Uncovering The Biggest Barriers For Elderly Citizens In Modern Society
Having lived through so much and gone through many experiences, you’d be excused for thinking your elderly years should be easy. It should be a time to unwind and enjoy life without the normal stressors of work or raising a family. And yet, there are countless barriers facing the elderly population of today.
As you get older, certain things become more challenging. Aside from the obvious health concerns, what are the main problems elderly citizens are facing?
Paying For Long-Term Care
Many senior citizens struggle to afford long-term care. In fact, it’s stated on https://www.mtelderlaw.com/elder-law/ that this is the single biggest problem elderly individuals face. Nursing homes cost thousands of dollars a month, meaning many seniors see their savings slashed within months.
In an ideal world, you’d get free care or be able to live by yourself for as long as possible. Some seniors do manage this, but most will be forced to have some sort of paid care at some point. It emphasizes planning for long-term care when you’re younger. Factor this into your retirement savings plan to ensure you’re not blindsided by the cost of looking after yourself as a senior.
Dealing With Loneliness
There is a loneliness epidemic amongst the elderly population. The older you get, the more distant you can become from other people in your life. Particularly if you lose a partner early on and your family lives in a different country or many hours away. Health problems can make it harder for you to be independent, which can force you to stay inside and lead to more loneliness.
More needs to be done to help seniors handle loneliness. It’s not fair that these people worked hard all their lives and ended up at home alone. Could younger generations be doing more to support their elders? Certainly, local governments could push for more senior citizen schemes such as setting up local support groups or clubs for seniors.
Keeping Up With Technology
It may seem like a stereotype, but seniors face the serious challenge of keeping up with technology. When you grow up during the tech revolution, transitioning to the latest piece of tech is easy. Many of us have grown up in an era where computers were easily accessible for everyone and we’re basically born with smartphones in our hands.
For seniors, it’s becoming harder and harder to keep up with technological advancements. In turn, it’s harder to do things that used to be easy. As an example, many grocery stores or cafes are switching to self-checkouts and self-ordering systems. Touch screens are everywhere and it can be difficult to do the simple act of ordering a coffee or paying for your shopping. When daily tasks are more stress-inducing, you feel less inclined to do them. Again, this leads back to the loneliness point – many seniors are so overwhelmed by the modern tech they end up staying at home and not being social.
It wouldn’t be outrageous to claim that growing older is getting harder and harder. The rising cost of everything makes long-term care a huge problem while tech advancements mean it’s hard to keep up with modern life. This can lead to an overall sense of loneliness that’s hard to escape from. Being aware of these issues will help you better prepare for your senior years while also encouraging you to reach out to the elderly people in your life to check that they’re okay.
