Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

Kiwis seem to be getting lonelier.  Recent research from Age Concern revealed the extent of the loneliness and social isolation felt amongst older New Zealanders – with 59% of respondents feeling lonely or isolated recently, and a third feeling like this most of the time.  Main points:  It’s rated as having a similar impact on our health as smoking and obesity   Multiple causes for loneliness including the impact of pandemic, the ageing population, rising cost of living, increasing health concerns and unaffordability, and the trend for families to move overseas   In the UK and Japan, they have established ministers for loneliness within the government to focus on this area – in NSW they launched a parliamentary inquiry into loneliness earlier in the year       What can help?   Addressing underlying causes   Community-based initiatives such as groups, volunteer programmes,   Interestingly social media doesn’t help – 75% of those with social media a