Video chat is one of the common way to with friends and family can stave off depression in older adults. a study has found. But you will be surprised to know video chat can stave off depression in older adults,  Researchers compared four different types of online communication technologies -- video chat, email, social networks and instant messaging -- used by people 60 and older and then gauged their symptoms of depression based on survey responses two years later.

Alan Teo, associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University in the US said,  "Video chat came out as the undisputed champion. He further added that  "Older adults who used video chat technology such as Skype had a significantly lower risk of depression. Reseacher said, “to our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a potential link between the use of video chat and prevention of clinically significant symptoms of depression over two years in older adults.’

The researchers identified 1,424 participants from a  survey who completed a set of questions about technology use. The participants also responded to a follow-up survey two years later that measured, among other things, depressive symptoms. The  people who used email, instant messaging or social media platforms like Facebook had virtually the same rate of depressive symptoms compared with older adults who did not use any such technology.