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Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

pewresearch.org

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Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#21

Post by sp332 »

mikece wrote: post #11

This seems like an area where technology would be well suited to help. I'm not simply saying "Just give 'em a Chromebook and a Facebook account" but VoIP and VTC would be ideal for helping the "alone elderly" be connected with the community around them... perhaps connecting with and mentoring children who are themselves frequently alone. Just a thought... it's certainly something I can easily imaging being in an Appl…

I don't know anything about this, but I've seen ads on TV. https://www.grandpad.net/

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#22

Post by mikece »

sp332 wrote: post #21
mikece wrote: post #11

This seems like an area where technology would be well suited to help. I'm not simply saying "Just give 'em a Chromebook and a Facebook account" but VoIP and VTC would be ideal for helping the "alone elderly" be connected with the community around them... perhaps connecting with and mentoring children who are themselves frequently alone. Just a thought... it's certainly something I can easily imaging being in an Appl…

I don't know anything about this, but I've seen ads on TV. https://www.grandpad.net/

Seems like more of a device than something meant to be a community effort/project which just happens to use technology, which is what I was trying to describe.

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#23

Post by _jal »

grenoire wrote: post #12
swiley wrote: post #4

Stop making assumptions about other people (they’re lazy/dangerous/whatever) and go out and be friendly. This Wednesday I wandered around the city playing ukulele at 3 in the morning and I met all kinds of interesting people, everything from this beautiful female graduate student who just wanted to talk about schoastics to someone who wanted me to call his “friend in Florida.” Just go out and be with people, they’re…

I don't know how people do that man, it's just very hard for some (quite a lot nevertheless) people to get out there and be vulnerable.

I can't tell if you're actually interested in suggestions, but if you are, start with something less intimidating that late-night ukulele, and try reframing what you're doing. If you do encounter something negative when you experiment, try to treat it analytically as well as emotionally. Just how bad, objectively speaking, was feeling a little embarrassed around some folks you'll never see again?

Paradoxically, you may find that putting yourself out there a little can be a surprising source of strength.

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#24

Post by Gene_Parmesan »

CriticalCathed wrote: post #20

is-is that a bad thing?

If you are someone who needs regular instances of social contact in order to feel connected to the world and to avoid depression and feelings of isolation, then yes. The important thing to remember is that many elderly are alone for such significant chunks of their days by force, not by choice. If you choose to be alone because you (like me) are an introvert and value your time to yourself to explore your interests, that is a very different situation than someone who is essentially house bound and has no choice in the matter.

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#26

Post by thow_leet »

I just turned 40 and have done a complete 180 from extroversion to introversion in the last two years so don’t see this as a bad thing. Was checking up on the psychology of it and checks out as totally normal. Extroversion in youth was selected for to provide mating opportunities, but wears off as we age.

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#27

Post by toomuchtodo »

ixtli wrote: post #17

As an anecdote, I've lived the majority of my life in America (born and raised middle class on the east coast in a wealthy area) and if I was tasked with writing an account of my time here it would be focused around one thing: alienation. American life is atomized and consistently getting more so. For anyone who sits around and thinks about why people are the way they are here I highly encourage you to consider that…

I agree entirely with this. I can only speak for myself and my wife (mid 30s), but we are making active efforts to combat this in our family and social circle. Our house is large enough to take in parents (parents still have hangups about how "they should be able to take care of themselves and live by themselves"; we'll be waiting if and when they change their mind), extended family, and friends, we host family dinners once a week (family friends are invited, all are welcome), and we prioritize interpersonal relationships over material possession acquisition and meaningless work (some possessions are required, and not all work is meaningless, but I hope I got my point across).

Fighting loneliness requires active effort. You are not going to care one bit if you bought that extra widget or got an extra story in on your sprint later in life. Put time into what matters: people.

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#28

Post by ixtli »

howard941 wrote: post #18

When I was a yute my grandmother used to go to a senior center for cards, talk, company, and her three children lived around the corner or upstairs. In NYC that was possible: Everything walkable. She lived well into her 100s. I don't now how they do it down here in Fla where nothing's walkable and public transportation's laughable and social services can't keep up.

Hey so i upvoted this because you used the word "yute" :D

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#29

Post by theflyinghorse »

CriticalCathed wrote: post #20

is-is that a bad thing?

My intuition is to say yes. We are, after all, social animals and throughout history have always thrived in groups.

I recognize that I am personally an extrovert so the thought of being alone and isolated like that really bugs me and other people might be introverted and perhaps loneliness and isolation is what suits them.

Re: Older Americans are alone half their waking hours, on average

#30

Post by whateveracct »

ixtli wrote: post #17

As an anecdote, I've lived the majority of my life in America (born and raised middle class on the east coast in a wealthy area) and if I was tasked with writing an account of my time here it would be focused around one thing: alienation. American life is atomized and consistently getting more so. For anyone who sits around and thinks about why people are the way they are here I highly encourage you to consider that…

> Most adults I know have a relationship with their immediate family that I would regard as acquaintanceship.

America is also _big_, which I think also contributes here. It isn't unusual for family members to move away within America but be far enough that frequent face-to-face interaction isn't possible.

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