Screen use among the elderly has been shooting up. We’ve got a new generation of retirees who are also familiar with digital technology. So, smartphones, iPads, even games consoles. And the result is some fairly epic screen sessions. Here in the UK, for example, retired people spend on average an hour and a half longer each day on screens than young people do. Even though we worry a lot more about young people and screens, actually, they are spending less time than their grandparents.

And it’s leading to some of the same concerns that people have had for a long time about teenagers’ overuse of screens: phone addiction, anxiety, all that kind of stuff. But there may be benefits to the elderly spending more time in front of their screens.

So, before we get to the benefits, how do we actually know that older people are spending more time on their phones and other screens?

Well, it comes from survey data and that’s shown for a very long time that old people have been big watchers of television. They’ve always clocked up longer hours in front of the TV than younger people. And what we’re seeing is that they are still watching as much television as they always did, but now on top of that, they are stacking screen use on these new types of screens, the phones, the iPads, and so on.

So, we talk a lot about this anxiety about younger people and screen time. Does it matter if older people are spending a lot of time on devices?

I mean, I think it’s possible for anybody to overdo it. And what’s interesting is that there are now more and more surveys focused on older people’s use of screens. There’s long been worry about children and these habits. But now, in some parts of the world, the focus is really moving to the other end of the age spectrum.

So, in South Korea, for example, where they have very high rates of mobile phone use, there was a survey recently which showed that 15% of 60-something year-olds were at risk of phone addiction. There have been studies in China linking phone use to worse sleep in the over 60s. There was a study in Japan showing that screen time was associated with less physical activity among the elderly.

And, you know, all of these studies come with their caveats. So, there’s always a sort of a chicken and egg question. Is it the case that people who spend more time on screens are doing less physical activity because of the screens? Or is it that they’re spending more time on those screens precisely because they’re now less able to do that physical activity? So, there’s a difficult thing to unpick there. But I think there is more focus than ever before on what the effect of this screen time is on older people.

And you said there were some benefits.

Yeah, very much so. I think this is important. I often think that, you know, the internet could have been invented for older people. You know, it’s the perfect way to help people stay in touch with friends and family if it’s harder for them to get out. You know, they can do their shopping online. They can attend everything from book clubs to church services using Zoom. So, there are enormous benefits.

There’s also, you know, there’s been some worry about so-called digital dementia. The idea that if people spend too long on screens, then they lose their mental faculties. But if anything, … … actually, there’s been some research that seems to show the opposite: that people over 50 who regularly use digital devices had lower rates of cognitive decline than others. Again, there’s a chicken and egg question there. Is it the case that people who are sharper spend more time on screens because they’re sharper, or is it that spending that time on screens makes them sharper?

People are still trying to disentangle that. But, so far, the evidence seems to be that there’s not too much need to worry about losing your marbles if you spend too long on screens.

And presumably, they’ve just got a lot more time to spend online.

Well, I think that’s right. I mean, you know, one of the biggest problems of screen use really is that it’s a kind of a waste of time.You know, there’s opportunity cost there. And if you’re a teenager who is trying to revise for exams, then the opportunity cost of spending 5 hours a day on TikTok is probably quite high. If you’re a retired person, then time is the one thing that you have in abundance. So, that’s one big worry that people have about teenagers that probably doesn’t apply so much to older people.

So, Tom, I’m interested. Is this something that companies have clocked and are actually aiming devices and apps and services and games at older people? Or is this a sort of untapped market so far?

I think companies are taking note and it’s interesting to see Apple, for example, is clearly aiming some of its gadgets at older people. AirPod earphones that it makes now double up as hearing aids. Wrist watches made by Apple have been quite popular with older people and they’ve got features in like, you know, fall detection and automatic calling of emergency services, that kind of stuff. So, I think as more people get online and spend more time on their phones, I think we are going to see more and more companies aiming their products and their apps at these older customers.

Tom, thank you so much for talking to me.

• To shoot up (phrasal verb): to increase in size, number, or level very quickly.
• A retiree (noun): a person who has retired and stopped working.
• To be familiar with something (phrase): to know something well.
• A game console (noun): a piece of electronic equipment used for playing games on.
• Epic (adjective): extremely large or happening for a long period of time.
• To lead to something (phrasal verb): to cause something else to happen.
• Anxiety (noun): an uncomfortable feeling of nervousness or worry about something.
• A survey (noun): questions asked to people to find out their opinions, behaviour, etc.
• To clock up something (phrasal verb): to collect or achieve a large number of similar things.
• On top of something (idiom): in addition to something else.
• To stack something (informal, verb): to add more of the same thing, one on top of another.
• And so on (phrase): together with other similar things.
• Screen time (noun): the amount of time someone spends looking at an electronic device.
• To overdo something (verb): to do something in a way that is too extreme.
• There’s long been (phrase): something has existed for a long time.
• The other end of the spectrum (phrase): the opposite extreme in a range.
• A rate (noun): the amount of times something happens or changes in a certain time period.
• -something (suffix): used after a number like 20, 30, etc. to refer to the age of a person who is between 20 and 29, 30 and 39, etc.
• A caveat (noun): a warning or limit added to something that is said.
• A chicken and egg situation/ question (idiom): a situation in which it’s impossible to say which happened first.
• (not) the case (phrase): (not) true.
• Precisely (adverb): used to emphasise what you’re saying, exactly this.
• To unpick something (verb): to analyse something carefully.
• Very much so (phrase): used to say ‘yes’ in a way that shows you strongly agree.
• To be/ stay in touch with someone (idiom): to continue communicating with someone.
• To get out (phrasal verb): to go out to different places, spend time with other people.
• So-called (adjective): a name people use, but it might not be accurate or agreed with.
• Dementia (noun): a medical condition that impacts mental abilities, especially in old people.
• A faculty (noun): a natural ability to hear, see, think, move, etc.
• If anything (idiom): used to say that, actually, the opposite may be true.
• Cognitive (adjective): connected with thinking or other mental processes.
• Sharp (adjective): intelligent or smart.
• To disentangle something (verb): to separate things that have become joined or confused.
• To lose your marbles (idiom): to lose your ability to think and remember clearly.
• Presumably (adverb): used to say what you think is true.
• Opportunity cost (noun): the money or another advantage that is lost when one thing or action is chosen instead of another.
• Abundance (noun): a situation where there is more than enough of something.
• To apply (verb): to relate to something or be important.
• To clock something (informal, verb): to notice, observe, or identify something.
• Untapped (adjective): a supply which is not yet used or taken advantage of.
• To take note (phrase): to pay attention to something.
• A gadget (noun): a small device or machine with a particular purpose.
• To double (up) as something (phrasal verb): to also be used as something else.
• A hearing aid (noun): a device worn inside or next to the ear to help people hear better.
• Detection (noun): the act of noticing or discovering something.

In this text, there are various examples of negative prefixes. We often use negative prefixes such as un-, in-, il-, im-, ir-, dis-, etc. before certain adjectives (and occasionally verbs) to give a negative meaning.

Negative prefixes with adjectives: common negative prefixes giving a negative meaning with adjectives include:

• Un- the most common, it can appear before any letter: unkind, unwell, unhappy, unfair, unsafe, uncomfortable
• In- also a commonly used prefix, appears mainly before the letters: a, c, d, e, f, h, o, s, v: inaccurate, incompetent, independent, inappropriate, inexperienced, invisible
• Il- appears before some adjectives beginning with l: illegal, illogical, illegible, illiterate, illicit, ill-advised
• Im- appears before some adjectives beginning with m & p: impossible, immobile, impolite, impatient, imperfect, immature
• Ir- appears before some adjectives beginning with r: irregular, irrational, irresponsible, irreplaceable, irresistible, irrelevant
• Dis- appears before some adjectives that describe attitudes, qualities, or behaviours: dishonest, disrespectful, disorganised, disloyal, disobedient, disgraceful

*Unfortunately, there are no exact rules when it comes to knowing which negative prefix fits each adjective. Try to learn different examples in context, using examples.

Other less common negative prefixes with adjectives, having slightly different meanings, include:

• A- usually means without or lacking: amoral, apolitical, atypical, asexual, asymmetrical
• Anti- usually means against: anti-social, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-government, anti-competitive
• Mis- usually means wrong or badly: misunderstood, misleading, misjudged, misguided, misused
• Counter- usually means against or opposite: counterproductive, counterintuitive, counterclockwise, counterfeit
• Over- usually means too much or excessively: overconfident, overpriced, overworked, overexcited, overprotective

Negative prefixes with verbs:

English does not normally form negative verbs with in-, im-, un-, etc. With verbs, negative prefixes usually relate to ‘undoing’ an action, or saying how much (over-, under-):

• Un- usually means to ‘undo’ or reverse an action: undo, unlock, unplug, untie, unpack, unpick
• Dis- usually means to reverse or separate something: disconnect, disagree, disapprove, dislike, disqualify, distrust
• Over- usually means too much: overdo, overeat, overreact, overestimate, overpay, overthink
• Under- usually means to not do something enough: undercook, underuse, underperform, underestimate, underfund

Examples in the text

• … that people have had for a long time about teenagers’ overuse of screens: ‘overuse’ is a noun form here, suggesting teenagers use mobile phones too much.
• I think it’s possible for anybody to overdo it: ‘overdo’ is a verb in this example, meaning that anyone can do things (such as using screens) too much.
• … there’s a difficult thing to unpick there: ‘unpick’ is a verb in this example, meaning to reverse and understand the complicated relationship between physical activity and screens.
• People are still trying to disentangle that: ‘disentangle’ is a verb in this example, meaning to separate the complicated relationship between intelligence and screen use.
• Or is this a sort of untapped market so far?: ‘untapped’ is an adjective here, meaning not used.

https://random-idea-english.blogspot.com/2012/09/negative-prefixes-with-adjectives.html

https://www.englishpodcastscollected.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-Economist-Why-grandparents-are-the-real-screen-addicts.pdf

https://www.englishpodcastscollected.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-Economist-Why-grandparents-are-the-real-screen-addicts.docx