Over 65% elderly feel lonely amid rising adoption of tech among youth: Survey

New Delhi: Over 65% of elderly people in India feel lonely as they think their personal interactions with the younger generation have been impacted by the increasing adoption of mobile and technology among the youth, reveals a survey by PAN Healthcare.

The survey titled Liberty in Life of Older People 2022 was conducted on 10,000 elderly population across 10 cities in India--Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Patna, Pune and Ahmedabad.

According to the survey, 51% of these respondents cited health problems such as joint pain, and body pain as the biggest reasons limiting their mobility in the elderly.

“National Statistical Office (NSO) and census data show that the elderly population in India is growing at a much faster pace than general population. In fact, it is likely to grow by over 40% in the coming decade, compared to just 8.4% expected growth in overall population. It is imperative that younger members of the family pay more attention to the physical, psychological and social needs of the elderly. Nearly 12% elderly who participated in the Liberty in Life survey said they do not pursue walking, yoga, exercises, meditation or conscious diet to stay healthy, which makes it even more pressing for the younger population to take out time to support them,” Chirag Pan, CEO of PAN Healthcare said.

Urinary incontinence emerged as the second-biggest limiting factor that prevented people above 65 years from moving around freely, more than the combined reported experience of tiredness and forgetfulness. About 16.2% of elderly people rushed to the toilet during day or night most of the time in the last 30 days, while another 31.6% had to take an urgent unexpected leak sometimes, noted the survey.

According to the Elderly in India study by NSO, there were nearly 138 million older persons in the country in 2021. This is up from 103.8 million elderly in 2011, according to the Census data. India has 8.6% global elderly population, which is likely to increase to 19% by 2050.

“With increasing growth in elderly population, incidence of urinary incontinence is also bound to increase. This is a problem that is often accompanied by guilt and shame, where the elderly feel embarrassed to disclose it to their family members. At times, they incorrectly perceive it as a sign of losing self-reliance, added Pan.