Do Your Parents Have a Screen-Time Problem? Exploring the Phone-Based Retirement Phenomenon
By Charlie Warzel
Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic
December 23, 2025
A growing concern is emerging among adult children: their aging parents may be developing a screen-time problem. While tech addiction has long been associated with children and teenagers, stories from across the country suggest that grandparents and retirees are increasingly absorbed in their phones and other digital devices. This emerging phenomenon has even been dubbed the “phone-based retirement.”
A New Kind of Screen-Time Concern
The traditional worry that technology is warping young minds now finds a mirror image in the lives of older generations. Rather than a phone-based childhood, many seniors are experiencing a phone-based retirement marked by hours of scrolling, playing games, or watching videos.
One friend shared his holiday disappointment, recounting how his kids could not enjoy quality time with their grandparents because the older adults were repeatedly engrossed in their phones and distant from family interactions. Numerous other anecdotes circulating online tell similar stories: elderly family members engrossed in endless scrolling, mobile games, and constant screen interaction at the expense of personal connection.
Stories From Families: The Rising Digital Divide at Home
Over the past year, many people have spoken to The Atlantic about these experiences. A common refrain: parents and grandparents acting compulsively with their devices.
One contributor said, “I am constantly begging my mom to put her phone down; every time I see her she is just mindlessly scrolling. I swear her attention span is gone.” Another described a grandmother playing Candy Crush extensively while her grandkids competed for lap space in vain, believing interaction was occurring.
One person lamented the sensory overload at home, mentioning two TVs blaring simultaneously while everyone independently scrolled their devices. Others expressed direct concerns about device use around very young children, pleading for parents not to be glued to iPads during family visits.
Hidden Dangers: Scams and Mental Health
Concerns go beyond mere distraction. Some adult children worry about their parents falling prey to online scams. Josh from Ohio shared about his father’s excessive consumption of vertical video content on Instagram and TikTok, suspecting it is a coping mechanism for his father’s depression and anxiety.
Another individual revealed that their father had been repeatedly tricked into paying for fraudulent “virus scanning” apps promoted through ads on casual games, forcing family members to disable app downloads to protect him. Another anonymous source spoke of parents accidentally sharing inappropriate videos on Instagram and numbing themselves with low-quality AI-generated content.
Data Reflects Rising Senior Screen Engagement
These family anecdotes align with research showing a notable rise in screen time among older adults. A 2019 Pew Research Center study found that Americans over 60 spend over half their leisure time — roughly four hours and 16 minutes daily — in front of screens, mostly watching online videos. Nielsen reports from this year indicate that adults 65+ watch YouTube on their TVs nearly twice as much as two years ago.
A recent survey of Americans over 50 revealed an average of 22 hours per week spent on screens, while a 2,000-person study of adults aged 59 to 77 found 40 percent felt anxious or uncomfortable without device access. These figures underline an undeniable trend: digital engagement among seniors is rising steeply.
Complex Realities Beyond Stereotypes
Yet, as Ipsit Vahia, chief of geriatric psychiatry at Mass General Brigham’s McLean Hospital, emphasizes, older adults are an incredibly diverse group. He cautions against lumping everyone over 65 into one category or stereotyping them as technologically inept or gullible.
“The older you get, the more diverse the experiences and habits become,” Vahia explains. “If you’ve met one older adult, you’ve met one older adult.”
Many seniors first embraced technology out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom calls allowed family reunions, church services went online, and telehealth appointments became routine, accelerating digital adoption and comfort.
Screen Time Can Be Protective for Seniors
Importantly, not all screen use among older people is harmful. Some research links digital engagement to better cognitive function in those over 50. Activities like word games, information-seeking, video tutorials, or social chats offer positive stimuli.
Vahia suggests the mental health impact of screen time differs by age. While in teens and young adults excessive device use may correlate with loneliness and depression, for seniors technology often combats isolation and enhances social connection.
The Dark Side: Excessive Scrolling and Misinformation
Nonetheless, some reports from healthcare workers reveal troubling patterns. A nurse from the UK described many older patients trapped in cycles of “excessive scrolling,” consuming large amounts of low-quality video content.
Beyond distraction, exposure to divisive and conspiratorial material on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can fuel paranoia, fear, and distrust, she notes. Seniors may encounter fake news, scam accounts, and hyperpartisan material, sometimes resulting in increased anxiety or isolation.
Vahia argues for nuance here: passive consumption of “slop” content doesn’t necessarily mean being duped. Sometimes it serves as fodder for social interaction or humor among older users.
Navigating Concerns with Compassion and Context
Much of the anxiety around parental screen-time may reflect society’s broader worries about digital life – concerns about manipulation, attention, and mental well-being. Adults projecting their own struggles with technology onto their parents is natural but requires a balanced perspective.
As the digital landscape evolves, understanding the varied experiences of older adults with technology—and supporting healthy, engaged use—will be crucial in addressing this complex new dimension of aging.
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