Band 6+: Nowadays some older people choose to live in retirement communities and centres with other people, rather than living with their adult children. Is this a positive or negative development?

There is a growing trend that elderly people live together with younger generations in their households. This phenomenon is mainly attributed to social isolation as well as financial supports. However, although living together can contribute to tighter family bond, I believe it is negative for the youth as excessive time with family can hinder their personal improvement.

One reason for this trend is social isolation as older people are likely to lose connection with society once they retire. In some countries such as China, people in their sixties would create a sense of loneliness after leaving the former workplace. The shift from heavy workload in the company to complete freedom leads to a sudden tranquility for retirees. To prevent being alone, they would choose to live with their family because they can take care of the children to compensate for the absence of parental care. Moreover, living with younger generations can also provide children with financial supports since the elderly can receive monthly pension from the governments. Specifically, the elderly can bear the responsibility of raising children with their parents, eliminating the financial burden of family.

While reunion can contribute to a tighter bond with family, the benefits provided by companionship might cause negative effects on children. Firstly, the company of older people would distract children’s attention on study because the caring acts by these elderly people can make it difficult for children to focus. For instance, according to a survey conducted by researchers, staying with retirees would weaken the concentration on schoolwork by 50%, which reports lower efficiency when children live with the elderly. Therefore, any noise caused by others may disturb children with their study. Additionally, living with children can also contribute to their dependent personality. This is because the elderly are sophisticated at doing housechores. To be more specific, youngsters who live with elderly people tend to lose the basic practical living skills with the company of older generations.

In conclusion, the trend of living with the youth is mainly caused by social isolation as well as financial supports. Nevertheless, this shift would lead to limited living experience and focus on study despite the formation of tighter family bond.