Exit Loneliness @WWW
An interesting and sad article from the Economic Times. It talks about how older people have become adept at using the WWW to keep loneliness at bay.
As much as the older folk pretend that they are fine with their living conditions there is no denying the fact that they miss their children who are "well settled" abroad in high paying jobs. These parents make do with the support of their local relatives, friends and neighbors and of course now the WWW.
To the dude who bought his father a laptop computer and his equally cool sister who bought their dad computer course material ... its a decent gift and must have cost a pretty packet and all that but it doesn’t replace being there with the folks and making sure they are doing okay specially in their old age when health issues begin to take over. Sending email and calling a couple of times a week do not suffice! I know I have no details of the reasons for the kids to be away from their parents but I still think it is not right to leave ones parents alone especially in their old age and that too several continents away.
Other countries may do things differently but I have seen how pathetic life is for people living in old-age/retirement homes (both in India and abroad). I agree old people can be cranky and difficult but the answer is not as simple as putting them in a home as soon as they cross 70 yrs in age. They need their privacy and freedom as everyone else but also need a lot of support of the emotional kind and not just the monetary kind at their age.
Category: brain drain rant
As much as the older folk pretend that they are fine with their living conditions there is no denying the fact that they miss their children who are "well settled" abroad in high paying jobs. These parents make do with the support of their local relatives, friends and neighbors and of course now the WWW.
To the dude who bought his father a laptop computer and his equally cool sister who bought their dad computer course material ... its a decent gift and must have cost a pretty packet and all that but it doesn’t replace being there with the folks and making sure they are doing okay specially in their old age when health issues begin to take over. Sending email and calling a couple of times a week do not suffice! I know I have no details of the reasons for the kids to be away from their parents but I still think it is not right to leave ones parents alone especially in their old age and that too several continents away.
Other countries may do things differently but I have seen how pathetic life is for people living in old-age/retirement homes (both in India and abroad). I agree old people can be cranky and difficult but the answer is not as simple as putting them in a home as soon as they cross 70 yrs in age. They need their privacy and freedom as everyone else but also need a lot of support of the emotional kind and not just the monetary kind at their age.
Category: brain drain rant
posted by Sushil at 9:55 pm
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