Joanna Lumley has warned that human interaction is ‘dying out’ because of the rise of technology, as she revealed her plan to retire to a commune with her closest friends.
The actress said she worries for elderly people who are being ‘deprived’ the opportunity to engage with others by the digitisation of modern life, including the closing down of high street banks and the move to online banking.
She continued to say that she always insists on waiting for a cashier in shops rather than using self-service checkouts, because she wants the ‘pure joy of the human contact it involves’.
Joanna Lumley has warned that human interaction is ‘dying out’ because of the rise of technology, as she revealed her plan to retire to a commune with her closest friends
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph about loneliness among the elderly population, she said: ‘As modern life has become ever more digitised, the loneliness of the elderly has intensified. The advance of technology makes many of us feel more connected, but for those who don’t use it, it’s a different story.
‘Look around a Tube carriage these days and everyone is staring at their screens, not looking at each other and saying “That’s a lovely coat,” or “Is that your dog?” The little snippets of everyday chit-chat we once shared with strangers are at risk of dying out.
‘I’m a great believer in smiling at people and saying “Good morning,” or asking “How are you?” and “Isn’t it a lovely day?” I count myself as an old person, and although I have mastered the art of email, I also know those who haven’t.
On supermarkets becoming dominated by self-service checkouts, she said: ‘In the supermarkets, meanwhile, our cashiers are disappearing and being replaced by self-service checkouts, the use of which can deprive the elderly of the one opportunity for human interaction they might have that day.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph about loneliness among the elderly population, she said: ‘As modern life has become ever more digitised, the loneliness of the elderly has intensified’
‘(I don’t use the self-checkouts, preferring to queue at the till for the pure joy of the human contact it involves.)’
The 71-year-old, who said she counts herself as an ‘old person’, also revealed her unique plan for how she would like to spend her twilight years.
She said: ‘My friends and I have often spoken of a plan: rather than reach the stage where we’re old and alone, we’d prefer to live together; to buy a big house, bring in a housekeeper to look after us all, and enjoy our twilight years in good company. “Let’s not get old alone,” we have said.’