We’re not lonely
It would be hard not to feel lonely, watching the world go by and growing a little older as each day passes. But a recent study has revealed the majority of people who are over 75 say they do not feel lonely at all.
It would be hard not to feel lonely, watching the world go by and growing a little older as each day passes. But a recent study has revealed the majority of people who are over 75 say they do not feel lonely at all.
A recent review of British government research showed that as people grow older, they become less lonely and happier with their community.
In what was described as a “whopping majority”, people aged 75 and older in Britain said they have never felt lonely.
Challenging the stereotype that old age was a time of ‘isolation’ and ‘unhappiness’, the survey by the Department for Work and Pensions showed that feelings of social isolation were more common among the young.
Based on a survey of 1,867 adults, the study looked at expectations and experiences of older life in Britain.
Seventy-two per cent of people over 75 years said they never felt lonely, compared to 51% of the 16 to 34-year-olds.
Ten percent of people aged between 65 and 74 said they sometimes, or often felt lonely, while in those aged 50 to 59, the figure was 21%.
The researchers said the ‘peak age’ for feeling isolated was between 50 and 59.
It was often related to children leaving home and early retirement.
Seventy-two percent of people aged 75 also thought their neighbourhood was a ‘good place to grow old’ and only 58% of those in their 50s gave a positive response.
Older people were also more optimistic about their own life expectancy than the young.
Men over 65 said they would live to be 87, and women in the same group said 88.
For those aged 16 to 34, the average age estimates were 79 for men and 80 for women.
Do you think it is wrong to suggest loneliness only comes at a certain age or do you believe it can strike at any age – and if so, what age group do you think is the most lonely?
