A photo a day keeps the blues away

FOR the selfie generation, posting photos online is second nature – but maybe more older people should give it a go.

A study has found that taking a photo and putting it on social media each day improves wellbeing.

Researchers interviewed people aged 20 to 60 who took daily snapshots and shared them on social media.

Those who had retired said it helped them interact with others and added structure to their day. One participant said it enabled him to ‘have conversations with people that I would perhaps have had in the workplace’.

Others said taking photographs helped them cope with a family illness or even the death of a parent. The study, by the University of Sheffield and Lancaster University, was published in the journal Health.

Co-author Dr Andrew Cox said taking photos each day ‘encourages people to look differently at the world around them, prompts them to go out of their routine ways and connects them with others’.