Loneliness does seem to be a particular problem for elderly people, and while it is often the product of aloneness we can be lonely when we're surrounded by people. In my column in The Herald today I write of what older friends have had to say to me about this difficulty. They report that their shrinking circle of friends shrinks more than can be explained by death, and that they are as much to blame as others. Yet older people seem to regret this, and sometimes loneliness blights their senior years.
It seems to me that the problem is compounded when age and retirement join forces, that the perception that age is ugly or at best undesirable is magnified by the perception that retired people don't contribute. I'm not so sure that the ageing and greying of Australia is going to improve this prejudice.
Many will say that there is no reason for seniors to be lonely or alone today, that there are many avenues for social interaction. But I think the difficulty goes beyond opportunity - I suspect it has to do with attitudes of young people, old people themselves and people in between.
An aged friend tells me that he seems to be invisible to young people, and as I move beyond my mid 50s I detect the beginnings of this invisibility.
Should we launch a campaign to make age funky? Can we sell 60s and above as the happening years and teens and 20s as foolish frippery?
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