Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe in early 2020, people around the world found themselves confined to their homes and limited to speaking to friends and loved ones via phone or video chat.
But rather than helping alleviate isolation, this virtual contact was more likely to result in older people feeling lonely, according to the results of a study published Monday.
Researchers from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom and the University of British Columbia observed a "notable increase" in loneliness in the U.S. and a decline in general mental well-being in the U.K. following the outbreak of COVID-19.
The team collected data from 5,148 people aged 60 or over in the U.K. and 1,391 in the U.S., who were surveyed both before and during the pandemic.
While regular face-to-face contact between households was associated with better mental well-being, virtual contact using phones or digital media -- through phone calls, texting, online audio and video chat, and social media -- was not associated with better mental health in either country.
The study found that older U.S. adults who had more frequent virtual contact were more likely to feel lonely than those who had infrequent face-to-face or virtual contact, especially when face-to-face contact was limited.
Older adults who had more regular in-person contact with friends and family throughout the pandemic had better mental well-being, but virtual interactions were not associated with better mental well-being in either country.
Dealing with technology can be stressful
"We find that face-to-face contact is essential in helping maintain older adults' mental well-being," Yang Hu, senior lecturer in sociology and data science at Lancaster and author of the paper, told CNN, noting that virtual contact was not "qualitatively equivalent."
"It's surprising that virtual contact is associated with greater loneliness and mental distress than no contact, but then again, not so surprisingly, a wide array of research did document the digital burden, stress, and reluctance experienced by some in the ageing population," Hu explained.
"This has to do with a complex set of factors, such as digital access, device affordance, tech know-how, and potential digital stress among the ageing population," he added.
Hu said policymaking needed to focus on equipping older adults with the tools and knowledge to use digital products and protect them from stress and burnout.
Whereas almost all (99 per cent) adults aged 16 to 44 years in the UK were recent internet users within the previous three months, only 54 per cent of adults aged 75 years and over were classed as such, according to the Office For National Statistics (ONS), citing data collected by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) between January and March 2020.
However, the proportion of those aged 75 and over who were recent internet users had nearly doubled, from 29 per cent in 2013, the ONS said.
"Older people are typically extremely resilient, but the disruption to daily life and enforced isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic has hit some very hard," Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age U.K., said in a statement.
"For the older people that can use it, technology has been invaluable, helping them keep in touch with loved ones and feel connected. However, social contact promotes our wellbeing and helps to stave off loneliness in later life. So whilst digital technology has advanced and has become increasingly sophisticated, it will never be a substitute for social interaction or human contact," Abrahams added.
Previous research has found that talking on video-conference services like Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic helped older people stave off the effects of dementia.
Researchers from the University of West London's Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory found that regular communication helps maintain long-term memory, and elderly people who often use online tools showed less decline in memory than those who don't.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.