My parents are addicted to their phones: what 22 studies say

If you've typed "my parents are addicted to their phones" into a search bar after a family dinner, you're in good company, and the research has only just started to catch up. A scoping review published on 31 July 2026 in Frontiers in Public Health gathered every study it could find on phone addiction in people aged 60 and over. It found 22.

The short answer is that older adults can develop problem phone use, but the hours they spend on the screen say very little on their own. What matters is whether your mom or dad can stop when they want to, and whether the phone is eating into sleep, movement, routines or relationships. The studies also keep finding loneliness sitting right next to the problem, which changes how you might help.

Smartphone addiction in older adults is real, but the research is only seven years old

The review's authors, nursing researchers at Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, searched nine databases up to 3 June 2026. Of 533 records, 22 studies made the cut, all published between 2019 and 2026 and all with participants aged 60 or older. The authors call it an emerging concern with early-stage evidence, and that description is fair.

Nearly all the studies come from China and other Asian countries, with a couple from Brazil and Türkiye. There's no substantial evidence from North America, Africa or most of Europe, so if your parents live in Ohio or Leeds, treat everything below as a reasonable guess about them.

There's also no validated definition or cut-off for phone addiction at this age. Most questionnaires were built for teenagers and students, and some ask whether the phone disrupts school or work, which isn't much use for a retired 72-year-old.

How to tell whether my parents are addicted to their phones or just using them a lot

The review's authors are firm on this point. Long use with a purpose, like calling family, paying bills or managing health, shouldn't be called addiction. It only counts when there's loss of control or harm to daily life.

A study from a low-income city in Brazil backs this up. Of 668 older adults surveyed, 172 used smartphones, and among them digital addiction went with poorer sleep while the number of hours used had no link to health outcomes (J Med Syst). It's one modest study, but it points the same way as the definition.

The review lists questions nurses can ask older patients, and they work just as well for families:

• Do they find it hard to stop, even when they mean to?
• Is it cutting into sleep or daily routines like meals, shopping or taking medication?
• How has their mood been lately?
• Do they seem lonely, or are they seeing fewer people?
• Are they still getting out and moving?
• Do they mention eye strain or neck pain?

The routines question has some weight behind it. In a Turkish study of 94 adults aged 65 and over, the phone-addiction group was less physically active and less able to manage everyday tasks such as shopping and medication, though their balance was no different (BMC Public Health).

Sleep and low mood have the strongest links, memory the weakest

Across the 22 studies, the links reported most often were poorer sleep, depressive symptoms, anxiety and loneliness. Every one of these comes from snapshot studies, so nobody can yet say which comes first.

Sleep and depression show up again and again

Two Chinese studies, with 200 and 459 older adults, linked phone addiction to poorer sleep, and the link was partly explained statistically by depression and loneliness (BMC Nursing, Behavioral Sciences). A larger survey of 2,585 older adults in Guangzhou, 14.2% of them over 80, found phone addiction and social participation were key predictors of depression (JMIR Aging).

Loneliness is likely involved, though one study found nothing

The loneliness finding is inconsistent. One 2019 study included in the review found no significant link at all, so treat it as a pattern worth watching rather than a settled fact.

Short videos get their own evidence

The review keeps short-video studies separate. They link short-video addiction or overuse in older adults with depressive symptoms, eye strain, worse sleep efficiency, social isolation and loneliness. The authors also warn that ordinary entertainment, or long viewing on its own, shouldn't be called addiction.

Memory and posture evidence is thin

There's no good evidence that phones cause cognitive decline in older adults. Only one small Indian study linked phone addiction to slower reaction time. On posture, the review's only randomised trial (Thailand, 60 older adults) found six weeks of home corrective exercise improved forward-head posture, rounded shoulders and deep neck muscle function. It did nothing for the addictive behaviour itself, a pattern familiar from the text neck research.

Loneliness may drive the scrolling as much as the reverse

The authors say reverse causation is plausible. Loneliness, depression or reduced mobility may push someone toward the phone, and poor sleep may lead to night-time phone use. The same chicken-and-egg problem turns up in younger adults too, as covered in the research on passive scrolling.

Social support, life satisfaction, living arrangements, care from adult children and social participation kept showing up alongside problem use. The authors conclude it shouldn't be read solely as poor self-control. It may reflect unmet emotional needs or fewer chances to see people.

What the phone is used for matters too. In the Korean survey, longer use and entertainment use went with higher risk, while information-seeking and communication went with lower risk. Oddly, higher digital literacy also went with higher risk, so the confident user may be more exposed than the confused beginner.

How to bring it up with your mom or dad without a fight

1. 01
   Watch first

   For a few days, notice what the phone is actually for and whether they can put it down when something else is happening.

2. 02
   Ask with curiosity

   Borrow the nurse questions above, starting with sleep and mood, and leave the word addiction out of it.

3. 03
   Ask about people

   Find out who they've seen lately, since low social contact keeps turning up alongside problem use.

4. 04
   Agree on one change

   Pick something they want, such as bedtime mode or a daily limit on one video app, and set it up side by side.

5. 05
   Book the next visit

   Arrange the next call or meet-up before you leave, so the plan adds something instead of only taking away.

Company and movement look promising, though none of it is tested yet

Almost nothing has been tested as a treatment for phone addiction in older adults. The one trial fixed posture and left the habit alone. So these suggestions follow the patterns in the review, with no promise attached.

• More human contact. Regular calls, visits, clubs or volunteering fit what the studies keep finding about loneliness.
• Movement they enjoy. In a study that followed 828 older adults over three survey waves, more positive exercise experiences predicted lower phone-addiction tendency later on, and the reverse held too (Frontiers in Public Health). Walks, Tai Chi or a class all count.
• A sleep routine. Sleep was the most frequently reported link, so a bedtime mode and a phone-free wind-down are worth setting up together. Here's more on how scrolling before bed affects sleep.
• Neck and eye breaks. Hold the phone at eye level, take breaks, and try simple neck and shoulder exercises if they mention pain.
• Built-in limits, with consent. Screen Time on iPhone and Digital Wellbeing on Android can cap specific video apps while leaving calls and banking alone.

Low mood, insomnia or withdrawal call for a GP visit

Sometimes the phone is the visible part of something else. Persistent low mood, anxiety, insomnia, pulling away from people or struggling with daily tasks like shopping and medication all deserve a doctor's appointment. The review notes that phone guidance alone hasn't been shown to fix these.

It's also worth remembering what the phone might be doing for a lonely parent. Taking it away from someone who is isolated can remove one of the few connections they have left.