By Sharon Jayson MAY 15,
2018
A
gnawing sense of irrelevancy and invisibility suddenly hits many aging adults,
as their life roles shift from hands-on parent to empty nester or from workaholic
to retiree. Self-worth and identity may suffer as that feeling that you matter
starts to fade. Older adults see it in the workplace when younger colleagues
seem uninterested in their feedback. Those who just retired might feel a bit
unproductive.
New
research suggests this perception of becoming irrelevant is very real. And
that’s why some seniors are determined to stay social, remain relevant and
avert the loneliness often linked with aging.
“As
people get older, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to feel like they
make a difference and matter,” said sociologist Markus Schafer, a faculty
associate at the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of
Toronto.
“One
thing about Western societies, in general, is they’re much more a
youth-centered society and don’t oftentimes give careful thought on ways older
people can contribute to the lives of future generations,” Schafer said.
When
people reach their 60s, opportunities to offer advice drop dramatically, said
Schafer, the lead author of a study on how offering advice gives life more
meaning. Overall, 1 in 5 adults in their 60s said they did not give advice to
anyone in the past year, and the rate dropped to 1 in 4 people 70 and older,
according to a 2016 study of more than
2,500 adults published in Social Psychology Quarterly.
That’s
not all. A national survey of
1,000 adults age 64 and older conducted in August by the California-based
nonprofit SCAN found almost one-quarter of respondents agree “they aren’t
important to anyone anymore.”
Having
purpose and meaning forestalls loneliness, which takes an emotional and
physical toll. Studies by Lisa Jaremka and other researchers have found that
loneliness is associated with weaker immune systems and poorer physical health.
In one study published
in 2013, Jaremka, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at
the University of Delaware in Newark, found that lonely people had more
inflammation than those who felt more socially connected. Chronic inflammation
is linked to various diseases, as well as functional decline and frailty.
“Maintaining
that social engagement can give you a greater sense of purpose and give a sense
of motivation that can make you behave in ways that are better for your
health,” said sociologist Patricia Thomas, a faculty associate in the Center on
Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.,
who studies social engagement among
older adults.
Some
older adults in Austin, Texas, are finding their purpose with a community
created by Aging is Cool, an active-aging company founded
just over a year ago.
“It’s
about staying visible and staying engaged,” co-founder Amy Temperley said. “If
you hunker down in your house and you don’t interact with the world, you will
decline.”
The
model she and her husband, Damien, devised offers options to keep individuals
active and engaged. For $24 a month, members can attend unlimited classes and
group activities, including brain and memory training; social and volunteer
activities and fitness classes that stress strength, mobility and flexibility.
Rosie
Cortez, 66, a grandmother of two, got involved after a heart attack spurred her
to lose weight and exercise more. She also needed more stimulating company.
“At one time, I did spend a lot of time with
my grandkids and I loved it — but you also need adult time,” Cortez said.
“We
really wanted people to have a sense of community,” Amy Temperley said. “Now
they’re starting to talk about themselves as a tribe. They get together after
classes. It’s evolved into not what we expected but better than we expected.”
In
addition to the membership group, the company offers 40-50 classes a month at
assisted living and senior living communities. It also maintains a nonprofit
fund at a local community foundation, allowing it to raise money for free
classes at senior housing and recreation centers in low-income neighborhoods to
spur social connections.
Similar
efforts are underway across the country as organizations from the National
Council on Aging to local YMCAs as well as city parks and recreation centers
create social and recreational programs for “active older adults.”
A
program to boost well-being, strength and social activities called
SilverSneakers, for adults 65 and older, is free with certain health plans.
Although approaches vary, the overall aim for active older adults is to promote
physical and mental agility and keep loneliness at bay.
Among
these strategies, volunteering is now seen as an effective way to battle irrelevancy
and loneliness. Buoyed by research that’s found health benefits for older
adults who volunteer, one such study led by a Florida State University
sociologist showed that volunteering appeared to have the same positive
influence on health as exercise and not smoking.
“Volunteering
is shown to be, in many ways, a health behavior,” said Dawn Carr, an assistant
professor of sociology at Florida State in Tallahassee.
Her study, published last
year in the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, found that “becoming
actively engaged in volunteering in later life is related to lower levels of
subsequent disability.”
Retired
school nurse Linda Levy, 69, has always been an active volunteer, even as a
mother working full time in Pikesville, Md. But after she and her husband moved
to Austin about 18 months ago to be closer to their son’s family, Levy is doing
something new — working part time in retail.
“I just
wanted to do something I could fit in with my schedule for family and to meet
people,” she said. “It gave me a purpose. I needed to be able to say ‘I’m going
to work.’”
Finding
employment isn’t so easy for older adults, which is why job search strategist
Toby Haberkorn co-wrote a book, out last year, titled “Best Job Search Tips for
Age 60-Plus: A Practical Work Options Resource for Baby Boomers.”
Haberkorn
advises job seekers to update their appearance and “show you have the energy
and expertise to manage the workload.”
Haberkorn’s
tips to stay relevant in the workplace are also pertinent in daily life: “Show
flexibility and adaptability rather than regurgitating the past. Become
reasonably social media- and technology-savvy. Familiarize yourself with what
young employees have an interest in — the music, whatever current events, the
apps — and be able to have a reasonable discussion. Do not say ‘Boomers have a
better work ethic.’ Never, ever say ‘I’m having a senior moment’ or ‘I have a
child your age.’ Don’t discuss your grandchildren. And keep your aches to
yourself.”
Haberkorn
also advises taking a hint from 96-year-old actress Betty White.
“She
still produces good work and she has a great amount of energy,” Haberkorn said.
“Her entire package promotes a youthful and optimistic attitude.”
KHN’s
coverage related to aging and improving care of older adults is supported in
part by The John A. Hartford Foundation.
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