Essay 324 – Older people should spend more time socializing

GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 324

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Some health professionals suggest that older people spend more time socializing with others and playing sports to stay healthy, but many retired people have experienced loneliness and a lack of fitness.

Why has this happened?
What can be done to address this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.


Model Answer:

Many doctors advise elderly people to increase social interaction and keep themselves physically active to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, most of them either ignore the advice or do not have the opportunity to follow it. This essay will first discuss how the deaths of spouses and age are the primary causes of this problem, followed by a discussion of how computer class and gym are the most viable solutions.

One cause of loneliness in older adults is the deaths of spouses and friends. When one partner dies, another one naturally feels desperately lonely. Besides, senior citizens also feel lonely if their friends or former colleagues die. In addition, elderly people are living a lonelier lifestyle due to age. As people get older, their children move away, they lose close contact with relatives and friends, and very often they have difficulty getting out of the home to socialize. Moreover, many retired people do not get involved in physical activities. This is because communities do not have suitable activities for them and many of them avoid healthy lifestyle guidelines. As a result, they cannot work on their physical fitness.

The best solution to this issue of loneliness among the elderly is computer classes. Community centres and libraries can offer training courses for old adults to acquire basic computer skills. These are good places to meet and spend time with others to make new friends. This, in turn, prevents them to feel lonely. Local branches of Age UK, for example, offer classes in computing to aid the elderly have grips with tablet computers, smartphones, video conferencing and email. Likewise, governments should build adequate fitness centres for the older people so that they can do some keep-fit exercise.

In conclusion, many older people struggle with their loneliness and low fitness due to the deaths of spouses and friends, age and lack of determination to lead a healthy life. However, if elderly populations get basic computer training where they can make new friends and the state builds fitness centres for them so that they can work out, the problem can be alleviated to a great extent.

2 Comments to “Essay 324 – Older people should spend more time socializing”

  1. This is a great website for IELTS. My email address is raotarun41@gmail.com.

  2. Some health professionals suggest that older people spend more time socializing with others and playing sports to stay healthy, but many retired people have experienced loneliness and a lack of fitness.

    Why has this happened? What can be done to address this?

    The elderly must utilize their time interacting with others as well as participating in different physical activities for a healthy and happy life – claimed by some health experts. However, many retirees are not only live in isolation but also lag behind in the matter of health fitness. The loss of family and friends make them feel low-esteemed along with inviting to mental and physical issues, and the same can be rectified by motivating them to start a new hobby, taking some special classes and keeping a pet.

    Primarily, when a person reaches their last phase of life, they may miss their peer group and life partner. This is because as humans we develop immense feelings and affections towards people we are close to who stand by in happy and sad times in life. Consequently, they feel low and lonely when those peers and close partners are no longer alive. To validate, a survey conducted by The Guardian, revealed that, Italy, as a country, has a large proportion of the old population who are over sixty years old, and many of these people are living a sad and inactive life owing to the lack of emotional support which was provided by their family and friends.

    This problem can be put under control by means of encouraging them to develop some sort of hobbies, giving special classes as well as encouraging these people to keep pets such as dogs and cats. The reason is that these hobbies, pets and special classes can divert their minds from sadness to happiness and lead to a happy life. The most common hobbies are learning some musical instrument or gardening as well as taking classes of meditation and yoga, thereby, leading to proper use of their spare time and saying ‘goodbye’ to the health issues by dint of healing power of Yoga. Moreover, the habit of keeping dogs or other kinds of pets is proven to be a really great idea as they offer great companionship. Special classes, like music classes, acting classes or even skill development classes can also motivate them to learn, spend quality time and make new friends. This can be an excellent way of helping them socialise and have an active life.

    In conclusion, grey people often lack fitness and suffer from loneliness – which further affects their well-being. It can be reversed easily by adopting holistic approaches like encouraging them to keep pets and join yoga and other recreational activities for living a happy life.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *