Among older Canadians, email use and social networking use were linked with different self-rated mental health patterns.

Older adults use digital tools differently. Their mental health ratings may differ too. This study separates the tools.

Quick summary

• What the study found: In The association between digital communication tool use and perceived mental health among older adults in Canada, email use was positively associated with perceived mental health, while social networking site use was associated with poorer perceived mental health among adults aged 55 and older in Canada.
• Why it matters: Digital communication is not one habit. Different tools may relate to wellbeing in different ways.
• What to be careful about: This was a cross-sectional survey. It cannot show that email improves mental health or that social networking worsens it.

Email and social networking moved in opposite directions

The study analyzed the 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey, including 13,536 adults aged 55 and older. The data were weighted to represent more than 12.7 million older adults in Canada.

Participants rated their own mental health on a five-point scale. They also reported whether they used tools such as email, instant messaging, social networking sites, online calls, and content uploading.

After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, email use was linked with better perceived mental health. Social networking site use was linked with poorer perceived mental health.

Association is not proof of harm or help

The result is not a ranking of good and bad technologies. It is a signal that different communication channels may connect with wellbeing in different ways.

Email often supports direct, slower communication. Social networking sites can include many kinds of activity, from contact with family to passive scrolling, but this paper did not separate those experiences.

That distinction matters because digital communication is too broad. A short message, a video call, and a public feed may feel very different.

Where this fits in everyday life

For many older adults, digital tools are now part of ordinary connection. Email may be used for updates, plans, newsletters, services, and one-to-one contact.

Social networking sites may also support connection, but they can bring wider exposure to other people’s posts, news, comparison, or conflict. The study only measured use, not tone or content.

The practical point is simple: the platform may matter less than the experience it creates for the person using it.

Read your own patterns without overreacting

This paper should not push anyone to quit social networking sites or rely on email for mental health. It does not test a change in behavior.

A safer takeaway is to notice how different tools leave you feeling. Some exchanges may feel connecting, while others may feel draining, repetitive, or tense.

That reflection is not a diagnosis. It is a way to be more deliberate about attention, contact, and boundaries.

What remains unclear

The study cannot tell whether tool use shaped perceived mental health, or whether people with different mental health ratings chose different tools. Both directions are possible.

Perceived mental health was self-rated, which is useful but limited. The abstract does not report clinical diagnoses, duration of use, or quality of online interactions.

The careful closing takeaway: older adults’ online communication habits may be linked with how they rate their mental health, but the pattern is tool-specific and not causal.