In Bengaluru, senior citizens feel out of touch amid growing social media adoption, according to a report in the Economic Times.
Spending too much of time on social media or increased smartphone use at the cost of interpersonal communication with elders amounts to disrespect and abuse.
Around 78% senior citizens in Bengaluru believe that social media has impacted the amount of personal time their children and grandchildren spend with them.
While an equal percentage of elders admit that social media has raised awareness about elder abuse and helped them understand the younger generation better, it has also simultaneously increased security threat, economic loss through blackmail, ransom and spam calls.
These statistics are from a nationwide survey conducted by nonprofit HelpAge India on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (June 15). About 65% of seniors across India felt that extreme attention to smartphones is disrespectful and 73% said their children are too busy on the phone even when they are at home. The survey was conducted across 23 cities and had 5,014 respondents across all social strata.
Peception about the social media among the elderly (whole of India)
Among the elderly social media users, more than 70% users agreed that elderly who use social media are aware of pros and cons associated with social media, social media has improved their knowledge on health issues and they can share their problems with others using platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook etc. Also, 74% confirmed that social media has benefitted their social learning skills.
More than 65% among elderly who are social media users, confirmed that social media has made their communication easier, their relationship with extended family members or relatives have increased, they now understand the younger generation better and social media has helped in reducing harassment against elders. Around 70% of users confirmed that overall social media has benefitted them or the people in their age group.
On the other hand, more than 60% of the social media users accepted that social media have reduced their sleeping time, increased economic loss through blackmailing / ransom calls/ spam calls to the people in their age group and sharing pictures/ tagging geo locations, places check-in information on social media has increased security threats to them. More than 75% of the social media users confirmed that social media has decreased their personal time spent with family and family’s personal time spent with elders.
65% of the elderly all over India feel that “Extreme attention given to phones/computers is disrespectful”. This was expressed more in Tier-I cities (71%) as compared to Tier-II cities (63%). The top five cities where most of the elders (more than 75%) expressed this issue are Mangalore, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad and Amritsar. The issue is reported least (27%) in Vizag.
“Even though social media has become an important part of our lives, senior citizens across the country are unable to keep pace with it or understand why the younger generation is so dependent on it,” commented Rekha Murthy, state head, Karnataka, HelpAge India.
Mathew Cherian, CEO, HelpAge India, said the nonprofit is now running a campaign called #Disconnect2Connect in order to encourage adults to connect and communicate with their elders personally, instead of over the internet.
“The elderly are unable to cope with fast-paced technology and feel isolated. It is essential to look up and acknowledge their presence,” he said.
Elder Abuse was reported maximum in Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Amritsar, Delhi and Kanpur. It was least in Jammu, Mumbai, Vizag, Kochi, Guwahati.