對(duì)我們大多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō),年齡越大,我們的行動(dòng)就越慢。但對(duì)一些人來(lái)說(shuō),變老也意味著社交活動(dòng)的放緩,以至于一些居家的老年人幾乎沒(méi)有人際交往。一項(xiàng)針對(duì)英國(guó)老年人的最新調(diào)查揭示了老齡化帶來(lái)的這一悲傷但真實(shí)的現(xiàn)狀,有成千上萬(wàn)的老年人一周都不和一個(gè)人說(shuō)話。
According to the survey of 1,896 seniors over 65 in the United Kingdom, more than one in five (22%) will have a conversation with no more than just three people over the span of an entire week! That translates to nearly 2.6 million elderly folks who don’t enjoy regular human contact on a daily basis. Perhaps most alarming though is researchers say an alarming 225,000 individuals will go a week without talking to anyone face-to-face.
根據(jù)對(duì)英國(guó)1896名65歲以上老年人的調(diào)查,超過(guò)五分之一(22%)的老年人在一整周的時(shí)間里只與三個(gè)人交談!這意味著有近260萬(wàn)老年人不喜歡日常的人際交往。也許最令人擔(dān)心的是,研究人員說(shuō),有22.5萬(wàn)人一周都不與任何人面對(duì)面交談。
“A friendly ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ is something most of us take for granted – it’s just part of every day life, but these latest figures show that hundreds of thousands of older people in the UK will spend today and the rest of this week alone, with no one to share even a few simple words with,” says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, which partnered with Cadbury Dairy Milk to commission the research, in a statement.
“友好的‘你好’或‘你好嗎?’是我們大多數(shù)人都認(rèn)為理所當(dāng)然的事情——這只是日常生活的一部分,但這些最新數(shù)據(jù)顯示,英國(guó)成千上萬(wàn)的老年人將在今天和本周剩下的時(shí)間里獨(dú)自度過(guò),沒(méi)有人可以和他們分享哪怕是幾個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的詞。”英國(guó)時(shí)代慈善總監(jiān)卡羅琳•亞伯拉罕斯(Caroline Abrahams)在一份聲明中表示。
The survey also revealed that 38% of seniors admit to feeling lonely at times as they’ve aged, with 12%, or about one in eight, agreeing that loneliness has kept them from leaving their home.
調(diào)查還顯示,38%的老年人承認(rèn),隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),他們有時(shí)會(huì)感到孤獨(dú),其中12%的人(約八分之一)認(rèn)為,孤獨(dú)使他們無(wú)法離開(kāi)家。
“Loneliness is a huge problem because retirement, bereavement and ill health mean many older people find they are spending a lot less time enjoying the company of others than they’d like,” says Abrahams. “Loneliness can affect your health, your wellbeing and the way you see yourself – it can make you feel invisible and forgotten.”
亞伯拉罕說(shuō):“孤獨(dú)是一個(gè)巨大的問(wèn)題,因?yàn)橥诵?、喪親和健康狀況不佳意味著,許多老年人花在與他人相處上的時(shí)間比他們希望的要少得多。孤獨(dú)會(huì)影響你的健康、幸福和你看待自己的方式——它會(huì)讓你感到忽視和被遺忘。”
About 40% of seniors say they’d feel more confident to head out each day if they knew their neighbors. Just the thought of someone stopping to chat with them brightens their outlook: 54% of respondents agree that even a short conversation with a neighbor or acquaintance would greatly improve their day overall. And a quarter of older adults say it makes them feel good when someone smiles or acknowledges them while waiting in line at places like the bank or grocery store. One in five would be thrilled if someone stopped to ask them how their day had gone.
大約40%的老年人說(shuō),如果認(rèn)識(shí)鄰居,他們每天出門會(huì)更有信心。一想到有人停下來(lái)和他們聊天,他們的前景就光明了:54%的受訪者同意,即使是和鄰居或熟人簡(jiǎn)短的交談,也會(huì)大大改善他們一天的整體狀況。四分之一的老年人說(shuō),在銀行或雜貨店等地排隊(duì)時(shí),當(dāng)有人微笑或向他們致意時(shí),他們會(huì)感覺(jué)很好。如果有人停下來(lái)問(wèn)他們一天過(guò)得怎么樣,五分之一的人會(huì)很激動(dòng)。
Meanwhile, another survey of 2,000 people ages 16-45 in the UK shows that 55% of younger folks admit to worrying about being lonely in their elder years. With that in mind, two-thirds of this segment say they’re willing to do something to help boost the confidence of a lonely senior, but 37% worry that such a gesture wouldn’t be well-received. Another 30% feel too shy to spark up a conversation with seniors, 27% admit they aren’t sure how to help, and a quarter say they’re simply too busy themselves.
與此同時(shí),另一項(xiàng)針對(duì)2000名年齡在16-45歲之間的英國(guó)人的調(diào)查顯示,55%的年輕人承認(rèn),他們擔(dān)心老年時(shí)會(huì)感到孤獨(dú)??紤]到這一點(diǎn),三分之二的受訪者表示,他們?cè)敢庾鲆恍┦虑閬?lái)幫助孤獨(dú)的老年人增強(qiáng)信心,但37%的人擔(dān)心這樣的舉動(dòng)不會(huì)受到歡迎。另有30%的人感到害羞,不敢與老年人交談,27%的人承認(rèn)自己不知道該如何幫助老年人,四分之一的人說(shuō)自己實(shí)在太忙了。