According to a report Published on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day senior citizens in India feel that they are being isolated and disrespected because of the attention that their adult children give to their smartphone and social media which has eaten into the time family members have for them.
The Study was done by HelpAge India, a charity that works for the elders who have some disadvantage. The study is based on a sample survey of 5,014 elders across 23 cities.
65% of the elders complained that too much importance given to smartphones and computers by the young was considered as a mark of disrespect to them.73% of elders felt that their adult children are too busy on the phone even when they are at home with them. 78% of elders agreed that social media had decreased the time that their family used to spend with them.
According to their study, the most common forms of abuse faced by the elderly were disrespect (56%), verbal abuse (49%), neglect (33%), economic exploitation (22%) and physical abuse (12%).
Nearly 25% of the elders who were interviewed for the report experienced abuse in some of the form, the main culprits were sons (in 52% case) and daughters-in-law (in 34% case).
As every coin has two sides so as the use of technology and social media also has a positive outcome.
More than 90% of those elderly who have access to the internet use various social media platforms such as Facebook (61%), WhatsApp (56%) and YouTube (40%) and while the main purpose of their using social media is to connect with family and friends.
They also spend more than 1/3rd of their time more on platforms for entertainment.
Around more than 65% of the elderly who use social media have confirmed that social media has made their communication simpler, their relationship with extended family members or relatives has gone up, and they are able to understand the younger generation better according to the report.
While technology in itself is good and progressive, it also has adverse impacts on the lives of our elderly.
Dr. Samir Parikh, a psychiatrist, and director of the department of mental health and behavioral sciences at Fortis Healthcare said that the elderly complaining about negligence or not receiving proper attention from the younger generation is not a new phenomenon.
While technology and social media sometimes impact the relationship, even between spouses, parents and their children, the feeling of neglect gets amplified in the elderly. But it is also social media that helps them stay connected with their families at all the times
