Readers respond to an article by Esther Rantzen in which she appeals to ‘fellow oldies’ to use the internet to offset loneliness
Esther Rantzen makes a timely appeal for older people to engage with the safer parts of the internet in order to offset loneliness (If you feel old, lonely and wary of the internet, do what I did – learn Zoom, 10 March). As a bereavement volunteer listener, could I offer a further suggestion, to be undertaken before one finds oneself alone? Do not allow your whole source of company and socialising to depend on your partner. One of you will die first – a hard thing to face, but inevitable. Ensure that you have hobbies and interests that involve interacting with others outside of your relationship, now, while you are still together, and which you can sustain once you are alone.
It is very hard to start up those activities when older and grieving, but if they are already in place it is much easier to continue with them and be supported by friends already securely made. So many devastated widows and widowers say to me “we did everything together”, which was lovely while it lasted but leaves them entirely alone in bereavement.
Jill Wallis
Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire
