According to a report published on Thursday, senior citizens in India feel that they are being neglected and disrespected as their adult children pay entire attention to their smartphones and the social media. The report was published on the eve of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The study was done by HelpAge India, a charity that works with and for the disadvantaged elderly. This year the focus of the study was impact of social media and technology vis-à-vis abuse of the elderly.
The report was compiled after taking interviews with 5,014 elders across 23 states. 65% of the respondents felt disrespectful as their adult children give extreme attention given to smartphones and computers. According to 73% elders, their adult children remain busy on the phone even when at home with them. 78% were of the view that social media had decreased their families personal time spent with them.
The study categorizes the forms of abuse faced by the elderly as disrespect (56%), verbal abuse (49%), neglect (33%), economic exploitation (22%) and physical abuse (12%).