It feels like most of us are getting our brains turned to mush by the internet. But a new study suggests that older people are at least having their mush stimulated. According to a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, older adults who have access to digital communication tools displayed better cognitive function and were less likely to show signs of depression than their less digitally adept peers. The study, which looked at data collected by the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, included nearly 10,000 participants, half in the “digital inclusion” group that had access to “internet-enabled information and communications technologies,” and half in the “digital exclusion” group that did not. Folks in the digital inclusion group participated in a variety of online activities, including chatting, reading the news, watching videos, playing games, and managing money. Those who were digitally excluded didn’t perform any internet-based activities. The people in the digital inclusion group showed higher levels of global cognition, which included executive function and episodic or long-term memory. Those who were in the digital inclusion group also displayed fewer symptoms of severe depression. Though that’s not to say that the folks who were “digitally included” were happy, necessarily. Members of both groups reported experiencing similar levels of “feeling blue,” hopelessness, and delayed memory recall. None of this is to suggest the internet is good for you, either. As the study points out, it’s possible that being online did help to keep older people engaged and connected, which helped keep their brains sharper and staved off some of the more depressive feelings caused by social isolation. However, it’s also possible that there is a bit of self-selection happening, where people who have already experienced a cognitive decline or are experiencing more depressive conditions are less likely to be able to use the internet. Past studies have also shown that internet usage can lead to addiction among older people, which can result in deteriorating mental and physical health, including anxiety, depression, and social fear. There are also real dangers of giving people who are not computer literate access to the internet, as they’re significantly more likely to fall victim to scams. We also know that more elderly people are using the internet in the wake of the pandemic, for better or worse. So maybe we should prioritize making sure they’re able to squeeze the benefits out of that internet access before the worst parts of the web take hold.