Concerns have been raised regarding middle-aged and older adults’ mental health during the coronavirus outbreak. The aim of the current study was to characterise associations between internet use (frequency and purpose), depression symptoms and Quality of Life (QoL) during the pandemic, in individuals aged 55–75. Data (N = 3491) were drawn from the English longitudinal study of ageing (ELSA) cohort study collected in June/July 2020 (while social distancing measures were in place). Associations with frequency of use were tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVAS), controlling for covariates such as wealth and education. Type of internet use (for communication, information search) was also analysed amongst frequent users. Significant effects of frequency of use were observed (p = 0.01 for depression, p < 0.001 for QoL), with lower depression symptoms and higher QoL scores amongst more frequent users. Regarding purpose of use, those who reported using the internet for communication purposes had higher QoL. However, use for health-related or Government services information searching was associated with more depression symptoms. Results provide important information regarding the potential benefits of internet use for middle-aged and older people, suggesting that strategies to increase internet usage (particularly for communication) might benefit middle-aged and older adults’ mental health and counter isolation as the coronavirus crisis continues to evolve.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant social restrictions have had widespread psychological ramifications, including a rise in depression prevalence. However, longitudinal studies on sociodemographic risk factors are lacking. Aims: To quantify longitudinal changes in depression symptoms during the pandemic compared with a pre-pandemic baseline, in middle-aged and older adults, and identify the risk factors contributing to this. Method: A total of 5331 participants aged ≥50 years were drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Self-reported depression symptoms in June/July 2020 were compared with baseline data from 2–3 years prior. Regression models investigated sociodemographic and lifestyle variables that could explain variance in change in depression. Results: Within-participant depression scores increased significantly from pre-pandemic levels: 14% met the criteria for clinical depression at baseline, compared with 26% during the pandemic. Younger age, female gender, higher depression scores at baseline, living alone and having a long-standing illness were significant risk factors. Gender-stratified regression models indicated that older age was protective for women only, whereas urban living increased risk among women only. Being an alcohol consumer was a protective factor among men only. Conclusions: Depression in UK adults aged ≥50 years increased significantly during the pandemic. Being female, living alone and having a long-standing illness were prominent risk factors. Younger women living in urban areas were at particularly high risk, suggesting such individuals should be prioritised for support. Findings are also informative for future risk stratification and intervention strategies, particularly if social restrictions are reimposed as the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold.

Loneliness among older adults is a major societal problem with consequences for health and wellbeing; this has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The present study investigated associations between internet use, including frequency and type of use, and loneliness in a large UK sample of middle-aged and older adults, aged 55–75 (n = 3500) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort study. Our findings indicated a clear relationship between the frequency of internet use and subjective loneliness. Those who used the internet more than once a day reported feeling less lonely than those who used the internet once a week or less. We also found that those who used the internet for e-mail communication were less lonely. However, individuals indicated higher levels of loneliness when the internet was used for information searches about health. Regarding sociodemographic factors underlying internet usage, less frequent use was seen amongst individuals who lived alone, people who were not employed, who had lower education levels, and lower sociodemographic status. Additionally, gender differences were found in the type of internet use: males report using the internet for e-mail communication more than females, while females’ internet use for health-related information searches was higher than in males. In sum, findings suggest that intervention strategies that promote internet access amongst middle-aged and older people could be useful for tackling loneliness and point to the groups within society that should be the focus of such interventions.

Background: Online gaming motivations are differently associated with career interests. However, very little is known about online gaming behaviour based on the actual games played and how career interests are reflected in what people play. Hence, we investigated the actual gaming behaviour of individuals from an extensive secondary data set to further support gamers’ future career planning and professional training. Methods: The study comprised 16,033 participants playing a different number of games on Steam. Our study was based on the 800 most played games only and included participants where we had access to gender and job details. We employed a secondary data analysis approach by using an existing data set (O’Neill et al., 2016), looking into the actual gaming behaviour of Steam users and additional administrative data (i.e., job details and gender) provided by Game Academy Limited. We used logistic regression on the participants’ top ten games, allowing us to investigate any possible associations between different professions, gender, and the games played. Results: We found that IT professionals and engineers played puzzle-platform games, allowing for enhanced spatial skills. Managers showed an interest in action roleplay games where organisational and planning skills can be improved. Finally, engineers were associated with strategy games that required problem-solving and spatial skills. There were apparent gender differences too: females preferred playing single-player games, whereas males played shooting games. Conclusion: Our study found that online gaming behaviour varied between different job categories, allowing the participants to gain different soft skills. The soft skills gained could assist gamers with training that leads to a particular career path. The reasons for these findings and suggestions for future research will be discussed.

Evening-types are at higher risk of problematic smartphone use and addiction to social media, but little is known about the possible mediating factors. Given the rising prevalence and broad negative impacts of smartphone and social media addiction, these factors require identification. Young adults (N = 407) aged 18–25, with an average age of 19.8 years, completed a battery of validated measures online. We tested mental health (anxiety and depression symptoms), loneliness, and poorer sleep quality as potential mediators in the relationships between eveningness and problematic smartphone use and social media addiction. As expected, evening types had higher prevalence of problematic smartphone use and social media addiction. Eveningness was also associated with higher anxiety and depression symptoms, loneliness, and poorer sleep quality. Two separate parallel mediation analyses were then conducted, with these three factors entered simultaneously as mediators. For problematic smartphone use, a partial mediation occurred, with loneliness as the significant mediating variable. For social media addiction, both loneliness and anxiety were significant mediators, and a full mediation was found. These important findings point to loneliness and anxiety as crucial explanatory variables for problematic technology use in young adults, suggesting that young adult evening types resort to smartphone/social media use as a dysfunctional coping strategy for loneliness and anxiety. Given the prevalence of problematic smartphone use and social media addiction amongst young people worldwide, and their wide-ranging negative impacts, this has important implications for prevention and intervention strategies to enhance young adults’ mental health, functioning, and well-being.

AI-related technologies used in the language industry, including automatic speech recognition (ASR) and machine translation (MT), are designed to improve human efficiency. However, humans are still in the loop for accuracy and quality, creating a working environment based on Human-AI Interaction (HAII). Very little is known about these newly-created working environments and their effects on cognition. The present study focused on a novel practice, interlingual respeaking (IRSP), where real-time subtitles in another language are created through the interaction between a human and ASR software. To this end, we set up an experiment that included a purpose-made training course on IRSP over 5 weeks, investigating its effects on cognition, and focusing on executive functioning (EF) and working memory (WM). We compared the cognitive performance of 51 language professionals before and after the course. Our variables were reading span (a complex WM measure), switching skills, and sustained attention. IRSP training course improved complex WM and switching skills but not sustained attention. However, the participants were slower after the training, indicating increased vigilance with the sustained attention tasks. Finally, complex WM was confirmed as the primary competence in IRSP. The reasons and implications of these findings will be discussed.