Wouldn’t it be nice

[fallen-archie]

If folk who visit this forum realised how alone some people are! Why can’t folk talk and discuss things, other than Brexit and the weather! I note that there have been no posts on here since early afternoon such a shame imho. There ought to be life beyond FB and Twitter or ami being I unrealistic?

[**bustysinclaire**]

Hi Archie, I quite agree with you. There could be many who drop by looking for some good interaction and a chin wag xx. Certainly doesnt hurt to chat about all kinds if topics xx

[**bustysinclaire**]

I don't much like fb and twitter. Xx

[fallen-archie]

Thanks for the response busty, it is a sign of the times that only you have posted, ah well if you don’t try xxx

[cee-dee]

Well now, I've posted a similar thread several times so I though I'd wait and see how you got on?

[fallen-archie]

Not very well by the looks of it😀

[theelench]

It's strange isn't it?  Thinking back to Christmas, the local TV news did a piece on how lonely some elderly people were and how if they didn't have carers visiting they wouldn't speak to anyone for days.  Yet one of my customers (a regular church-goer) put her name down for an "Extra Chair" scheme  --  no takers.

My mother lives in sheltered accommodation and some of the more active have tried to get (or keep) various activities going, with little success.  Coffee Mornings are down to half-a-dozen, Fishy Fridays  --  three or four.  The manager was supportive when I suggested having a lunch time drop-in, she printed and delivered notes to every resident to let them know we would be in the communal lounge and anyone was welcome to join us with a sandwich to watch the lunch-time news together.  Not a single person came for over a week, so we gave up.

Even Age UK has stopped its weekly visits as there were more volunteers than visitors.

I can't remember if it was on this board that I bemoaned my local pub that only a few years ago was lively at weekends with working people, their friends and families catching up and relaxing together, but was now almost deserted.  How I watched a group of regulars come in (all on their mobiles), put money on the bar, collect their pints and retreat to a table without a word to me, the bar-maid or each other.  Where they sat drinking in silence, still on their phones.

I feel my world has shrunk since I have become my mother's carer.  Between doing two jobs and spending more time with her I have little time for much else.  I don't use FB or Twitter but "talk" to friends often via email and find they are in the same position, little time to do anything except fire off emails instead of getting together physically.

I can't help thinking that it's probably a devious plot to destroy cohesion and limit interaction between people.  Encouraging everyone to become more solitary and fill the gap with whatever appears on the screens in front of their faces where they can be constantly bombarded with adverts and propaganda.

[fallen-archie]

Not sure where to start QB other than to say how right you are! I agree with everything you say especially about the demise of the local pub as a place to interact, indeed around here so many have closed and what’s left are all struggling. I used to really enjoy going to the local for a pint and a game of cribbage, you would get to know your neighbours and discuss matters of interest, that has all gone! Sitting at home being constantly told that you need to take out life insurance to pay for your funeral appears to be the order of the day, and of course messing around with your mobile phone which marvellous as they are have taken over the lives of everyone people walking along the street with there faces buried in their phones😩 talking to their avid followers and no doubt hoping for likes! I think that people have also become far less tolerant hiding behind their fake ids and trying to be controversial or intimidating, yes we are truly becoming a nation of lonely people hooked on the internet where our every move and habit is followed by bots and cookies. My daughter is in a scheme whereby she visits and elderly lady and takes her shopping or just out and about, the lady as early onset which makes it difficult to judge how much getting a visitor helps however her face lights up when she arrives which is kind of telling.
Perhaps one day when the current trend is over we can get back to talking however the longer it goes on I doubt there will be a pub left anywhere that sells an affordable pint, my god what have we become?

[**bustysinclaire**]

I think with the elderly it is really to do with their physical abilities or lack of xx

Many want to take up the offer and invitations by it is very much like hard work to get ready, they probably even forget about an event till it's too late. 

My hubby is a good example of that, I'm his carer he being a lot older than me and suffers a variety of medical conditions where it is hard to do just even the simplest of things like dress and prepare a meal, it makes him not want to try. I'm the one that is more the lonely one, and im the one more capable physically (id say mentally too but some would say thats debatable) lol.

It has a lot to do with confidence and fealing safe and secure too.

[0125arwen]

So called social media is destroying the UK,

it has turned the country into a tribe of boring selfie obsessed berks.

You really can be alone in a crowd now when everyone has their head bowed and their faces bathed in a soft blue flickering phone light,

like they see it as the face of god, whilst simultaneously being oblivious to supposed loved ones right next to them.

A sad state of affairs.

[fallen-archie]

The other thing about social media is it’s use and abuse by politically motivated individuals! Setting aside the rumours about interference in
Voting situations there is a worrying rise in people wishing to push a personal political agenda. I do not believe that this is healthy for democracy and people who don’t warrant a platform to spit their bile suddenly find one and use it to great effect.Worst of all is the way groups round on people who ask questions which don’t fit a particular agenda and then get rounded on in a condescending fashion usually ending in them being labelled a racist, facist, bigot, Nice innit 😩

[upthecreekyetagain]

Criticise football as much as you like but when at a match and your team scores you most certainly aren’t alone!

When you lose there is always plenty to discuss with strangers because 9 times out of 10 it has to be the refs fault.

Age, ability, IQ, colour nor religion comes into it - everyone has an opinion and isn’t afraid to share it.

One of the few places where nobody is left out.

[0125arwen]

And one place I would prefer to be left out.

[upthecreekyetagain]

You’ll never know unless you try it - when was the last time you went to a match?

[0125arwen]

Never, not my thing.

Lived very near a ground though.

[margaret*e]

Mothers don't interact with babies in prams  now, they look at their phones while pushing them, a large portion of the time into the road with the buggy in front of them.

[cee-dee]

Also, no end of people walking dogs are taking no notice of what the dog's doing, even when they're on a lead. Yak-yak-yak on their phone.....

[**bustysinclaire**]

If I want to know how to do something on my pc or mobile phone, who can I turn too ........... My grandchildren lol xxx

And they soon moan when I say, right we're taking the dogs for a nice long walk round the lake.  😒

[suzieseaside]

..... If we were older". You got me singing the Beach Boys for a moment there archie! But changing older to younger!

But yes, it would be luverly, and there have been a few threads i have almost added to, but you know how it is once you get out of the habit of posting .....

As to social media i seek out friends who aren't glued to their mobile phones in their homes, pubs and restaurants. Does my head in when some can't switch off scanning FB. It's not as if missing it for a couple of hours would be crucial. Not doing it might be life-changing in a good way, even if it just means paying attention to what's going on around you and the people you are with.

[Anonymous]

I will talk to anyone who will talk to me, even though I'm really pretty much a loner. I hate mobile phones and don't have one. They make us communicate easier and quicker, but in my opinion not better.

I was at Manchester airport last year and this big guy sat down besides me. He got his phone out and was doing what most people were doing in the waiting area. Scrolling through stuff and looking at his screen.

A woman came past who was doing a survey about the service at the airport. I was honest and said no thanks I'm actually too tired to bother, I'm really sorry. Then she asked him and he said his English wasn't very good. The woman walked on, but I said with a laugh "Liar".

He was Dutch and I had heard him speaking English before. He looked at me and burst out laughing himself. He obviously appreciated my cheek, especially as it was the truth. Some guy went past with a cowboy hat on and he said that it was one of the Dooby brothers and that was probably why our flight was delayed. I said I had never heard of them so he said look it up on your phone. I haven't got one I said, which he thought was weird, so he looked it up on his and showed me.

All this then sparked off a conversation and soon we sat there laughing, having a banter and exchanging stories about our families etc...Then it was time to board the plane and he said, “it was really nice talking to you” and I said....”and that would never have happened if I would have been looking at my mobile phone”.........