Combating Senior Loneliness with Robotic Pets

Senior loneliness is a critical issue and dramatically affects health. I recently found out that there is a New York State Office for Aging project in which they distribute robotic pets to seniors to help treat loneliness and isolation.

Thirty-one thousand five hundred people have already been able to receive such robots, and we have now added another 4,725.

I find this both fascinating and heartwarming, and I wanted to share my thoughts on it.

Loneliness can be very crippling, especially for a population of seniors. Research shows that social isolation can result in tremendous health problems; for instance, it is equivalent to 15 cigarettes a day. This is shocking, and it paints a picture of how vital social bonding is for good health. For many older people, finding reliable companionship is super hard, so that's where these robotic pets come in.

The robotic pets are actually meant to provide comfort and companionship, similar to what people get from dogs, cats, and even birds. The company that came up with this idea, Ageless Innovation, was inspired by the fact that adults were increasingly purchasing such products for their children, hence realizing that there was a great need to produce the same for older people as well. This was basically done after having a partnership deal with NYSOFA, which had seen its potential benefits to the lonely seniors.

One that touched her heart was that of a 101-year-old woman called Helen Macura, who was given a robotic dog named Friendly. Since she always wished to have a dog but couldn't get one because of her condition, she enjoyed the company of Friendly. It was a battery-operated golden retriever who provided her immense joy and indeed proved to be a good companion. It would bark, turn it's head, and raise it's paw in the air, supplying Helen with a sense of connection and comfort. Stories about Helen, for example, illustrate the beneficial effects that robotic pets can have.

Critics might argue that resorting to robotic pets to battle loneliness reflects a trend in "botsourcing" human interaction with machines and, in some way, devalues human contact. Although instrumental to the subject, robotic pets can never be a substitute for human relationships but rather an interface or a bridge to the same. Such pets often become a talking point, thus engaging seniors with their caregivers and family members. This consequently lifts a bit of the loneliness and isolation.

The robotic pets can also be more beneficial in their use for seniors who are otherwise unable to care for live animals. For those with physical limitations or living in environments where pets are not allowed, these robotic companions offer a viable alternative. They give a sense of responsibility and a regular daily regimen to seniors, who often lack these in their lives.

Greg Olsen, acting director of NYSOFA, defined loneliness among the state's elderly in very no-nonsense, real-time terms: "It can kill you." Therein lies, with that grim notice, the creativity that will be needed to avert that sense of aloneness that seniors develop. Robotic pets will not be the panacea, but they are another tool in a more comprehensive method of promoting well-being for older people.

Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad is a professor at the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and one of the nation's foremost investigators of the health effects of loneliness, a work she has pursued for well over a quarter century. Her findings demonstrate that being lonely or socially isolated can bring more stress and chronic inflammation, entrained factors that make inflammatory diseases run unabashedly rampant.

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