Seniors driving increase in television time at the expense of reading

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by barryem

It's one thing for younger siblings and children to be there when they're needed, and sometimes they are needed. It's entirely another thing when a competent elderly person becomes the victim of a sibling's or child's power trip.

I had a neighbor whose daughter wanted to run her life and tried to for years. My neighbor didn't need it and resisted for years till her daughter wore her down. She moved her into a nursing home even though she was fully able to care for herself and she was miserable. But she was stuck.

Barry

My Mom is 85 and I'm always trying to tell her to stop overdoing it so she doesn't get injured. Finally, last year, she agreed to no longer go on the roof. She also agreed that if she goes up on a ladder, she would wait for me or neighbor to hold said ladder still. That's pretty much it. The real problem now is her frustration level because she can't do as much stuff as she could 5 years ago.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Yep, I think health issues are what takes a lot of elderly from active reading to passive pursuits. Medications, arthritis, mental agility, hearing loss all work against you. Plus, keep in mind that a lot of elderly don't know how to use technology, so even though ereaders and audiobooks may solve their problem, there is nobody helping them with it.

And part of that health decline may be in eye related problems too. While some models of e reader can read aloud to you not all can and even if it can if the person using the tech doesn't understand how to use it (as you said) it won't make much difference to them. Not to mention that with RA and other like ills of old age they may have trouble holding even an ebook device much less a paper book. I also recall reading somewhere about how our tastes in music is pretty much set by age 35 (hard wired into our brains) so we are less likely to start listening to a new genre of music after that. I can imagine something like that applying to trying new gadgets for many as well. Before she passed last year my mom liked to look at the Rockford IL paper online, but she had me open up the site for her. She wasn't even sure where the on switch for my computer was much less how to navigate to the paper's page. Instead she had me do the work even though I tried to show her how many times, she just couldn't master it. To her computers were the big machines in banks (she was born in 1943) and the modern personal computer was beyond her understanding.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

IMO, you could do many studies about tv viewing habits, and support any POV you might have.

My elderly (almost 89) mother watches more tv in the winter, and when it's raining or too ugly to be on the porch. When she had pneumonia she watched much more. She still drives, and works in the yard a bit, though that will chance as she sold her house and is moving to an apartment.

She makes weekly trips to the library, and reads a couple of books per week. She also knits everyday, while watching tv. She rarely just sits and stares at the tv...her hands are always busy doing something. She works jigsaw puzzles too, and always has one going. There is a tv in that room, but she usually has a music channel playing, not television.

My MIL, same age as my mom, rarely if ever reads books. She reads devotional material, and daily bible passages. She loves Hallmark channel, and has it on all the time. She usually does various crossword puzzles while watching tv. She also colors little post cards for giving to friends. She no longer drives, so her tv watching is increasing, as her physical conditions changes.

My mom, during the last few yrs of her life couldn't really read. She had a nerve twitch and just couldn't concentrate on reading much. So she watched tv, usually with the captions turned on since she had hearing problems (too many yrs in noisy factories without good hearing protection).

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

or that they are superior because they don't watch it.

What?! You mean we're not?

[Apache]

My mother will be 82 in August and has Macular Degeneration. She can no longer read. She still bakes a lot and she mows her lawn. Maybe not as well as she used to, but she still mows. She does watch TV, but it is more that she listens to it more than watches. She likes the old movies and can see the action in her head.
Apache

[barryem]

Originally Posted by Tarana

My Mom is 85 and I'm always trying to tell her to stop overdoing it so she doesn't get injured. Finally, last year, she agreed to no longer go on the roof. She also agreed that if she goes up on a ladder, she would wait for me or neighbor to hold said ladder still. That's pretty much it. The real problem now is her frustration level because she can't do as much stuff as she could 5 years ago.

The maintenance man at my retirement home retired about 3 months ago at age 82. He's been going up on the roof at least twice a year. His replacement is a much younger man, only 76. He was on the roof about 3 or 4 weeks ago to remove a misplaced satellite dish. Everybody's different. I wouldn't go up on that roof for any amount of money.

I got the tail end of a story last week about a 95 year old skydiver. I'm not quite sure what the story was but I'm pretty sure a 95 year old was skydiving. I think President Bush the first did something similar. I just googled it and found that last year a 102 year old grandmother celebrated her birthday by skydiving last year.

Also the oldest bungee jumper, according to Guiness, made a 708 foot bungee jump at age 96.

When I was younger I was in the Houston Bike club and made 50 or 60 mile rides on a lot of Sundays with the club in the hot Houston weather. Probably 1/3 of the people on those rides were in their 60s or 70s. On one ride from Houston to Austin, 200 miles on the route we had to take, almost half of the people who finished were in their 70s and 80s. This wasn't a race of course. Everybody went at their own pace and the older people were usually a little slower arriving. By the way, half that ride was uphill.

Everybody has different limits and as long as we're thinking clearly we should be able to define those limits for ourselves.

Barry

[Sirtel]

My mother has Alzheimer's, she no longer does anything but watch TV and occasionally go for a walk. Physically she's healthy, but her mind is slowly going. She's *only* 82, but her memory and mental agility are pretty bad already. She can no longer understand most of what's on TV, but she still wants it to play all the time. It's very sad, because only 5 years ago she was a completely different person - smart, active, interested in political debates among other things (we used to tease her because of it). She liked to bake, now she can't remember any of her recipes or even how to use the oven at all.

My dad, who died a year ago from heart failure (he was nearly 80), didn't suffer from any mental degeneration. His mind was as sharp as it had always been, he used tablets and smartphones. He had never been a reader of books, but he liked to read the news and watch the sport broadcasts.

It's a bit funny that neither of my parents were book readers, but I was a total bookworm from a very early age. My grandmother liked to read, though. I guess I inherited the love of books from her.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I think the charge of "sloppy reporting" is an overreach; perhaps the real problem is hasty reading.

Always a possibility.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by issybird

But for all I think the article should have been better, I tend to agree with its premise and wonder why seniors don't read? They're the last lingering cohort of those who grew up reading for pleasure, from back in the days when there were only three networks and limited options.

Generation X: forgotten again.

Pretty much all my age compatriots around here grew up reading for pleasure, and still do.

[4691mls]

I don't consider myself a "senior" yet (in my mid 50s; according to most definitions I've seen I am at the tail end of the Baby Boom generation) however, I grew up in the age of 3 networks, in a family where reading for entertainment was encouraged.

I know people of various ages from my age on up to 80s who do read regularly. I don't know a lot of younger people so i can't really compare generations.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I don't consider myself a "senior" yet (in my mid 50s; according to most definitions I've seen I am at the tail end of the Baby Boom generation) however, I grew up in the age of 3 networks, in a family where reading for entertainment was encouraged.

I know people of various ages from my age on up to 80s who do read regularly. I don't know a lot of younger people so i can't really compare generations.

Depends where you are in your mid 50s; the cutoff is obviously arbitrary, but a lot of people say Gen X started around 1965.

Most of the seniors around me are avid readers also, as are almost all of the children and a fair few of the teenagers.

[Apache]

I can not remember a time I did not read. My father only read the newspaper. My Mother read. Her father read a lot and one of my father's brothers read a lot. We were a military family and were always far away from both families. I was the go between for my Grandfather and Uncle. I would swap books with one and when I next visited the other, I would swap again. Rinse and repeat.
Apache

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

Interesting discussion. I'm glad the majority here didn't use this article as a chance to mindlessly bash any TV watching. I've seen countless articles about reading where TV is mentioned and the comments just fill with people acting like all TV is mindless or that they are superior because they don't watch it.

I think there can be a tendency for projection, an assumption of an attitude of superiority that doesn't exist. I never watch television because I don't like watching television. That's neutral, not judgmental. And as for the "white noise" comments, the kind of electronic noise a television makes is torture. I could watch TV for an hour or so if it were something I was actively engaged in, but as background noise it drives me crazy.

The anecdotal evidence in this thread about aging parents who still watch television even as they've had to abandon reading tends to support the notion that reading engages more of the brain. So while grownups can pick their own poison, so to speak, I do think reading is "better" for you, cognitively speaking, than television. Vegetables are better for you than ice cream, but it doesn't mean you can't enjoy ice cream.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by issybird

I think there can be a tendency for projection, an assumption of an attitude of superiority that doesn't exist. I never watch television because I don't like watching television. That's neutral, not judgmental.

Again, I was saying I wasn't seeing much judgement in this thread, which was a nice change for this topic. Trust me when I say the superiority and judgement is clear when I've read other discussions about this. It's not just imagined, it's spelled out where several are concerned.

Fortunately Mobileread mainly has been open-minded, friendly and helpful.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Apache

I can not remember a time I did not read. My father only read the newspaper. My Mother read. Her father read a lot and one of my father's brothers read a lot. We were a military family and were always far away from both families. I was the go between for my Grandfather and Uncle. I would swap books with one and when I next visited the other, I would swap again. Rinse and repeat.
Apache

That sounds like such fun. I enjoy reading books about books with the author's experience growing up and bonding over books with other people. I have no idea where I got my love of reading from, but glad it's there.