Numerous scientists, through their research discoveries, have found that many elderly people experience health issues and solitude. In contrast, compared to older people in the past, they were physically healtier and happier. In this essay, I will discuss the reason behind such phenomenon and offer some solutions.
To embark on, the advancement of technology nowadays has significant impacts on how people interact towards each others. The existence of online-based interaction apps, social media platforms, provide easiness and accesibility for people to communicate without any border of time and space, connecting individuals accross the globe. Such invention, however, drives people to have social interaction through their mobile phones at home, instead of having outdoor physical activities. Furthermore, this kind of interaction model does not exist in the past. Thus, earlier older people tend to have more physical activities, interact with neighbours, or simply having a walk arround the village, which can preserve their well-being conditions.
To tackle this problem, increasing public consciousness by campaigning about social media utilization and its dangerous effects, is one of the most effective steps which can be taken by the government and social communities. In many cases, today, older individuals are not aware about the harmful threats caused by social media for their mental and physical health if they are not reducing the intensity of its usage. In Indonesia, for instance, adult people in the age 45 to 60 have 5 hours of screen time per day in average, demonstrates that the use of social media for older people remain high.
In conclusion, the reason behind why today’s older people are less happy and healty is because they are lack involved in physical activities. Accordingly, rising public awareness about the importance of having outdoor activities should be encouraged.