Smartphones making elders feel neglected: Study

THE ANNUAL STUDY BY HELPAGE INDIA WAS BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH 5,014 ELDERS ACROSS 23 STATES

NEWDELHI: Senior citizens in India nurse the feeling that they are being neglected and disrespected because of all the attention that their adult children devote to their smartphones and the social media, according to a report published on Thursday, the eve of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The annual study by HelpAge India, a charity that works with and for the disadvantaged elderly, focussed this year on the impact of social media and technology vis-à-vis abuse of the elderly.

“Each year we try to get a better understanding of the existence of this heinous crime against our elderly and create awareness about the issue. Unfortunately, elder abuse starts at home and from whom they trust the most …This year we also looked into the impact of technology,” said Mathew Cherian, chief executive officer, HelpAge India.

The report was based on interviews with 5,014 elders across 23 states; 65% of the respondents complained that extreme attention given to smart phones and computers by the young was disrespectful to them. “Seventy-three percent elders felt that their adult children are too busy on the phone even when at home with them. Seventy-eight per cent elders agreed that social media had decreased their families personal time spent with them,” the report said.

According to the report, the most common forms of abuse faced by the elderly were disrespect (56%), verbal abuse (49%), neglect (33%) , economic exploitation (22%) and physical abuse (12%). Nearly one-fourth of the elders interviewed for the report experienced abuse; the main perpetrators were sons (52%) and daughters-inlaw (34%).