Forum: Screen addiction among seniors may indicate loss of capacity for solitude

The article “Smartphones taking over the lives of Singapore’s seniors: When does heavy use cross into addiction?” (March 30) paints a sobering picture of Singapore’s seniors caught in the dopamine loops of endless scrolling – lonely, unstructured, and increasingly dependent on their phones for a sense of being alive.

As a gerontologist, I recognise these patterns well.

What the article describes is a generation that has, for the first time, abundant time – and finds it unbearable.

The smartphone steps in to fill that silence. But as the research cited makes clear, it does not fill it well. It merely postpones the encounter with oneself.

The deeper issue is not screen addiction per se, but the loss of what we might call the capacity for solitude – the ability to simply be, without stimulation, without productivity, without an audience.

This capacity is not weakness. It is, in fact, a form of wisdom that older adults are uniquely positioned to cultivate, if given the right support.

Rather than framing retirement as a problem of idle time to be managed, we might reframe it as an invitation – to rediscover the self that exists beyond busyness.

This could mean contemplative practices, embodied activities like gardening or music, intergenerational community, or for many older Singaporeans, the resources of faith and spiritual community.

We owe it to our seniors not just to regulate their screen time, but to help them find what lies beyond it.

Shiou Liang Wee (Associate Professor)