{"id":23410,"date":"2020-12-20T22:55:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-20T22:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=23410"},"modified":"2020-12-21T12:58:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T12:58:10","slug":"grannys-on-instagram-in-the-covid-19-era-older-adults-see-time-differently-and-are-doing-better-than-younger-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/grannys-on-instagram-in-the-covid-19-era-older-adults-see-time-differently-and-are-doing-better-than-younger-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Granny’s on Instagram! In the COVID-19 era, older adults see time differently and are doing better than younger people"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marcia G. Ory<\/a>, Texas A&M University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Time in the era of COVID-19 has taken on new meaning. \u201cBlursday<\/a>\u201d is the new time word of the year \u2013 where every day seems the same when staying home and restricting socializing and work.<\/p>\n

As a public health and aging expert<\/a> and founding director of the Texas A&M Center of Population Health and Aging<\/a>, I have been studying the impacts of COVID-19 with an interest in debunking myths and identifying unexpected positive consequences for our aging population.<\/p>\n

It is common to view older adults as especially vulnerable. Public health statistics<\/a> reinforce the picture of older adults infected with SARS-CoV-2 as more likely to have serious complications, to be hospitalized and to die.<\/p>\n

But what do we know about how older adults themselves are responding to social distancing restrictions in place to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19? And what does this changing sense of time mean for them?<\/p>\n

Calmness, interest and gratitude<\/h2>\n

Despite popular notions that older adults would have more negative reactions to forced social isolation<\/a>, a recent national survey<\/a> revealed that older adults \u2013 despite their awareness of increased risk \u2013 are generally not reporting more feelings of anxiety, anger or stress than younger age groups.<\/p>\n

They are actually expressing more positive emotions \u2013 feelings of calmness, interest and gratitude. Indeed, other surveys<\/a> suggest it\u2019s the youngest adults \u2013 ages 13 to 23 \u2013 who are experiencing the most stress.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Older adults are learning to cope with social distancing restrictions; here, a couple on a hike, wearing masks.<\/span>
\nDon & Melinda Crawford\/Education Images\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This surprising finding has been attributed partly to older adults\u2019 perceptions of time and their coping mechanisms<\/a> developed over a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Many older people have redefined their experiences in terms of time left to live, and they focus on what is most meaningful now. They let go of what they can\u2019t do anything about. Instead of looking back, older adults are motivated to enjoy the time they have left.<\/p>\n

What have been difficult are the changing definitions of time and the persistence of a \u201cblursday\u201d existence. Being isolated during spring and summer seemed almost bearable. The uncertainty of knowing when \u2013 if \u2013 things will return to pre-COVID life is likely to be taking a toll on even the most robust older adults.<\/p>\n

Older adults who have been self-isolating for months have been looking forward to getting together with their families over the holidays. Not seeing their families during the holiday season<\/a> may be particularly difficult.<\/p>\n

When I was talking to an older friend the other day, she indicated she was \u201cbasically doing fine.\u201d She was staying in touch with her family through regular Zoom calls. But she was \u201ca bit sad about the upcoming holidays,\u201d and what she \u201cmissed most was not being able to hug\u201d her children \u2013 \u201cespecially over the holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n

From expectation to reality<\/h2>\n

During a recent SiriusXM Doctor Radio<\/a> show on which I was the guest \u201cexpert,\u201d I heard many real-life challenges<\/a> families face: An older woman with underlying health conditions worrying about not getting to travel to see her children and grandchildren. Adult children who were weighing what would be worse \u2013 possibly infecting their older relatives by visiting or not being able to see their elderly relatives in person for what could be the last time.<\/p>\n

While vaccinations<\/a> are now authorized for emergency use, their rollout will take time and we can\u2019t expect them to be an immediate solution for such hard decisions.<\/p>\n

Public health guidelines<\/a> still recommend using face masks and adhering to social distancing rules. They also recommend limiting travel<\/a> well into the new year.<\/p>\n

\"And<\/a>
The new vaccine will eventually help lead to more normal social interactions, but not soon enough for many older Americans.<\/span>
\nAngela Weiss \/ AFP\/Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This push-pull, from expectation to reality, can be an especially hard adjustment. Instead of a one-time cure, will we be thinking of COVID-19 vaccinations as a perennial event<\/a>, like with flu shot, and COVID-19 precautions as a fixture in our everyday lives?<\/p>\n

Grandma is on Instagram<\/h2>\n

Contrary to stereotypes that cast older adults as tech-phobic, many older people are learning new skills<\/a> to become more familiar with technology. That way, they can stay socially connected and accomplish tasks of daily living such as bill paying and grocery shopping.<\/p>\n

Some older adults are even more likely than before to communicate with their loved ones during COVID-19 times using social media platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Health care changing with the times<\/h2>\n

Health and social organizations are more attuned to negative impacts of social isolation and are instituting screening tools and referral sources for care<\/a>. For example, a social isolation risk screener<\/a> asks brief questions to detect early signs of social isolation and link older adults to needed services.<\/p>\n

Another silver lining: Mental health problems<\/a> may not be so stigmatized when many people have such obvious reasons for unhappiness.<\/p>\n

Health care itself is changing, with benefits for patients\u2019 time. Instead of expecting older adults to spend hours getting up and out of the house for a 15- to 30-minute appointment, telemedicine<\/a> has come into many older adults\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n

There is renewed interest in advanced care planning<\/a> as well. While doctors, older adults and their families may have been previously uncomfortable about bringing up the topic, such discussions are becoming more common, due in part to the high number of serious complications and fatalities in the older population.<\/p>\n

And finally, as an aging expert<\/a>, I see one more positive change: a de-stereotyping of older adults<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.<\/em> Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

Beyond the statistics portraying the seriousness of COVID-19 among older adults, there is also a growing recognition that older adults are not all the same. COVID-19 experiences will be affected by existing physical and mental health as well as the social conditions in which older adults live.<\/p>\n

While many older adults may be coping well, it\u2019s important not to overlook<\/a> those socially isolated older adults with persistent mental health challenges or difficulties getting access to technologies that can help them connect to others.\"The<\/p>\n

Marcia G. Ory<\/a>, Regents and Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marcia G. Ory, Texas A&M University Time in the era of COVID-19 has taken on new meaning. \u201cBlursday\u201d is the new time word of the year \u2013 where every day seems the same when staying home and restricting socializing and work. As a public health and aging expert and founding director of the Texas A&M […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":23411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36,38],"tags":[7689,3006,388,9009,9159,153,7778,2089],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23421,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23410\/revisions\/23421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}