An imperative against boredom: Entertain yourself!

The story I share today is full of hope for older people who are bored, but it also offers a bath of reality and criticism of the social institutions responsible for preventing boredom in old age and ensuring dignified ageing. On this occasion we give voice to Andrés, a 69-year-old retiree living in southern Spain. 

Our interviewee's professional career has taken him halfway across the country, from Murcia to Madrid, via the Canary Islands and Toledo. Andrés was a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence and was in charge of training and professionalising those entering military service. He retired at the age of 63 due to illness, although he had been in the reserve since he was 56. Except for periods of service in the barracks and times of manoeuvring, which could involve working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, his working day used to leave him a couple of hours a day to enjoy his hobbies: gardening, hiking, reading and looking after children and the home. Andrés has never felt bored! "There was no time!"

The military discipline with which he was so familiar predisposed Andrés, even before he retired, to plan the activities in which he was going to spend his time when he no longer had to go to work. "I didn't think I would get bored, because I already had more or less planned what I was going to do after retirement. And so it was. 

His illness does not limit him; it only takes a little while a day. He tries not to be discouraged by his family's concerns when it comes to carrying out his plans. Thus, making the most of the gain in free time resulting from retirement, his current daily routine consists of walking in the mornings, first thing in the morning, to "enjoy nature and the singing of the birds". On his return, after a shower, he takes care of helping his wife with the housework. Afterwards, Andrés relaxes by chatting with other elders and playing dominoes at the senior citizens' club in his village. Before he knows it, it's lunchtime. Watching the news with his wife after lunch is a forced date: being up-to-date is important! This is followed by a film, if there is one interesting one. If the TV offer doesn't motivate you enough, then choose something to read from your many pending readings: "I'll be leaving this world and I won't have read everything I have". Five afternoons a week he goes to church to help his parish priest, with whom he has a good friendship, and he takes the opportunity to listen to Mass. Sometimes, before dinner, he still has some time to play some music. At this point "the day is already laid out and it's time to rest". Tirelessly, Andrés still finds time to devote to his children and grandchildren. How will he know what boredom is?

While it is true that the experience of boredom is completely alien to Andrés, he acknowledges that not all the older people he deals with suffer the same fate. Andrés is an inexhaustible source of creativity; a curious soul. But those who do not have that spirit of self-improvement and vitality are often easy prey to the boredom generated by "the limited entertainment provided by institutions". 

One of the main problems he observes is that the offer itself is not well publicised and organised; that is, it does not reach everyone and does not do so equally. While, he says, "for the ladies there are many training courses and activities, promoted by the women's centres, the men depend almost entirely on what they have available in the senior citizens' club: pétanque, cinquillère If there is anything else, he doesn't know about it - and not out of disinterest! Andrés would be willing to embark on new activities if he were aware of them and found them attractive. But this is not the case. "Perhaps in the big cities you reach the older people more effectively, but in the villages you only find out about things if you look at the club's notice board. 

That being the case, he tells us, it is not unusual to find companions who are dying of boredom. "They miss work a lot and don't know how to cover their free time. There are many who are "bored to death": "they spend the whole day at the senior citizens' club and must be extremely bored; they end up leaving because the centre closes and then they don't know what to do at home". 

Andrés does not know what the future will bring. However, it is clear to him that in the event that his situation changes and he finds it impossible to continue with the activities that fill his days, he will strive to find new entertainment, even if he cannot leave his home due to problems of reduced mobility. "This is something that will happen sooner or later, but when the time comes I will find alternatives, I have so much to do! It is not in his plans to give up and spend the whole day watching TV: "That would be a deadly bore! However, it would be more difficult if he had to live in a nursing home. Then, he warns, he might have to come face to face with boredom for the first time: "I don't see any residential homes offering activities to keep you entertained all day long". Still, "there would always be music and reading," he explains with a smile.  

Of course, boredom depends on the context, but for Andrés it is above all a question of attitude. That's why he wants to share a message of encouragement with the readers in order to spread his natural strength: "We older people are a bit abandoned by institutions, but I invite everyone to take charge of their lives in order to stay active, even if they have to carry a cane! Don't stay at home thinking 'what will become of me', 'what do I paint in this world', don't wait for your children to have the solution, entertain yourself! When you're bored, think that there are always things to do: get some plants to look after, call your neighbour for a chat... Cheer up and always go forward! Until the day comes, you have to keep fighting!"

Andres' case does not have to be an exceptional one. What should be exceptional is the lack of motivation to take on new challenges as the years go by. And discouragement does not always go hand in hand with a personality prone to boredom, but, as we saw in the previous interview, and again in this one, disinformation plays a crucial role. It makes no sense for institutions to invest in the creation of an attractive and varied entertainment offer if it does not reach the potentially interested elderly. Two issues become evident from the conversations held so far: as a researcher trained in advertising and public relations, I am surprised to see that the product, if it exists, is not reaching its target; as an interested in the challenges surrounding geriatrics, I am frightened by the uneasiness that the idea of living in a nursing home causes to people.