Social Networks Affect Memory
A recent Australian study analyzed the correlation between an elderly person’s social network and memory over a span of fifteen years. The researches found that both the size and type of social networks affected memory. The four types of networks are children, relatives, friends, and confidants, and each person received a score for each category based on the number of people they felt close to. In our class terms, they are only considering the strong ties between people. A total social network score was calculated as the sum of each of the 4 types of networks. Participants of this study were then grouped into either the lower, mid, or upper tertile for each individual network type as well as for the total score.
The results show that both larger friend and overall social networks are beneficiary for memory; there is a linear effect of the size of these social networks on memory. Explanations for this conclusion include that socializing is cognitively stimulating and enhances neural plasticity, which helps the mind resist damage of the brain as people age. It is also important to note that here the size of a person’s social network means the number of people whom the participant keeps in close contact with; when formatting this network, the strength of each tie is taken into account, and only strong links are included. One reason why friend networks are especially beneficial is because those relationships involve mainly positive interaction. On the other hand, relationships with certain relatives may be considered strong links mainly due to the amount of time spent together, which may be obligatory due to familial ties. Experts say that at such an elderly age (70 years and older), time is spent mainly with treasured friends only, which minimizes the amount of negative interaction in the friend network.
It would be interesting to examine the effects of social media on social networks for the elderly as a means to help them with memory loss. As we have analyzed in a homework problem a “lift” in a relationship can be produced by including a distant acquaintance in one’s Facebook NewsFeed. Perhaps this idea can be extended to implementing some sort of virtual network for the elderly to help them keep in touch with close friends that may have moved far away. Essentially, this virtual network would strengthen once-strong ties between friends. Of course, writing statuses and liking comments would not do for this demographic, not only because this idea is foreign to them but also because that would not be considered enough interaction to improve memory loss, so after locating their once-close friends, they would reconnect through some sort of phone or video chat. It would be great if something as simple as reconnecting and spending time with close friends could reduce rates of cognitive decline.
– jc
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3437737/?tool=pmcentrez