Abstract
This study aims at finding the relationship between elderly people’s perceived state of loneliness and their choice of (old and/or new) media instruments. The sample of the study consists of randomly selected 300 elderly people over 60 who reside in rest homes in two different cities, Hatay and Istanbul in Turkey. Participants were given a questionnaire with three sections. The first section included questions related to the participants’ demographic characteristics. Adapted from Russell’s (1996) “Loneliness Scale (Version 3)”, the second part was related to participants’ perceived state of loneliness. Final section was about their choice of media and related details such as aim and time spent on them. Analyzed by statistical methods, study findings show that elderly people from two different social settings and with changing demographic features display differing degrees of loneliness with a significant relationship between the forms of media they used, their related choices, aims and perceived state of loneliness.
Highlights
Social interaction is an innermost human need at any age
Older people are heterogeneous and some are likely to be more at risk of loneliness than others, A recent study shows that ‘severe loneliness’ among people who state that they are always or often lonely affects about 7% of the older population
It is considered that Turkey still has a comparatively young population, statistics show that elderly people are gaining more and more attention
Summary
Social interaction is an innermost human need at any age. A lack of social contact results in social isolation and relatively loneliness. Older people are heterogeneous and some are likely to be more at risk of loneliness than others, A recent study shows that ‘severe loneliness’ among people who state that they are always or often lonely affects about 7% of the older population. This rate shows little change over the past five decades. The extent of severe loneliness amongst older people can be an underestimate of this as stigma attaches to admitting loneliness as a continuous experience This experience can be ‘old age onset’, as a response to losses occurring later in life such as bereavement or declining health. There is an increasing recognition that social isolation and the loneliness can adversely affect older people’s long-term mental and physical health
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