2.1 THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION:

1.1 PREFACE

1.2 THE SILVER TSUNAMI

1.3 OUTLINE BRIEF

1.1 PREFACE:

During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the pervasiveness of social contact within and social relevance of nearly every sector of life, including employment, entertainment, travel, transport, and recreation. Even though I am a person who was very uncomfortable with physical contact before the pandemic, the lack of social interaction in isolation made me realise that I am afraid of being alone. With all the extra time that I had to be alone with my thoughts in 2020, this discovered fear of loneliness amalgamated with one of my other fears – that of growing old. I find the idea unnerving of growing old alone, disconnected from my loved ones, and dying alone in a small 3 x 3m room at a retirement home.

Since 2012, I have lost two of my grandparents due to illnesses (organ failure and Alzheimer’s disease), and they were forced to live out the remainder of their lives in a full-assisted-care facility. Seeing them living their final months in lifeless beige squares made me afraid that I would have to live in the same situation when I am old. While not living through their experiences, I did experience the after-effects of seeing my remaining grandparents having to relocate from their long-term homes into retirement facilities that were not the perfect fit for them. Both of my grandparents came from a manual labour background (construction and farming).

FIGURE 1.2: My Grandfather and Mother on 35mm film. (Author, 2021).

My grandparents downsized their lives from being active in their careers to inactive in retirement. I noticed that they became lonely and depressed. After losing their life partners and retiring, they became recluses and neglected themselves socially and physically. It saddens me deeply to see them in this state because I still have vivid memories of the people they used to be. It is a heart-breaking experience to see loved people decay in a retirement facility that is not the right fit for them.

I chose the topic of retirement because of my personal connection. I wanted to investigate what a retirement home truly is and how architecture could aid the elderly in retirement by allowing them to live socially fulfilling lives in old age. Ageing is inevitable, and I will have to move into a retirement community one day. I wish to contribute to the change needed in the hope that when I retire, the concept of a retirement home has evolved enough to cater for my social and emotional needs, allowing me to enjoy a fulfilled and productive old age.