Yes, I know studies can prove and also disprove anything, so some time and additional studies would need to tell if this really has any benefit. It may also be dependent upon what you actually do on the Internet, as just watching movies may be the same as watching a TV channel. Also, “more” may not mean that 16 hours per day is going to better.
The study was conducted by researchers from New York University. They analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, a government-funded project that has tracked the wellbeing of a representative sample of older Americans via surveys conducted every two years.
The team focused on nearly 18,000 adults over 50 who were dementia-free at the start of the study and were followed for up to 17 years. They then divided the participants into two groups, based on whether they said they regularly used the internet in their initial survey. Another questionnaire assessed people’s cognition, which the researchers used as a measure for dementia status.
The authors found that regular internet users were half as likely to meet the criteria for dementia than those who reported no use at baseline, even after accounting for other factors like their pre-existing health.
The authors say their analysis is the longest of its kind to examine this possible relationship.
See https://gizmodo.com/internet-use-dementia-risk-hours-online-brain-health-1850405066