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Well who the hell doesn’t want to stay engaged in a meaningful everyday life? Just because you are old or ill doesn’t make you less of a fully conscious being.

Considering it’s possible for them to go the other way, it’s worth investigating.

Agree! Worked with dementia patients, they decline when not interacted with positively. Even just simple things like talking to them about happy things helps. All anecdote but it seems people declined quickly without those everyday positive interactions.

In NY (US) there was a law that passed not called “right to fail” but that was what it was known as amongst social workers and those dealing with the mental health crisis. One of the biggest issue was those with cognitive decline deemed eligible to live alone were often left to their own devices and felt marginalized/forgotten by society. Given a place to live but with no ostensible way to join and be part of the community or have people even check up on them to hear how they’re doing was the first and foremost reason why people would fail the program and have ongoing mental health issues regardless of autonomy. When the state provided with aid in the form of a 6-8 hour per day social worker to help them and engage them almost every person thrived.

Propublica covered this extensively

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I'm an MSW working primarily with Dementia patients in Hospice and it isn't uncommon for somebody to be live discharged from hospice due to no longer being terminally ill, just as a result of having a social worker or chaplain come and see them once a week. Chaplain is a huge DnD nerd and tells them stories from his games. I'm a huge space nerd and I talk about the stuff going on in that field. Or show them pictures from my hikes, talk about what obnoxious thing my cat did the other day, etc. Nurse sees them twice a week and has casual chats while they're there as well. Human beings thrive when they feel connected to the world around them.

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I think it’s particularly interesting that all 7 spheres of everyday life identified in the study are still desired during decline.

I would’ve assumed people drop their desire to engage in some (say, public opinion) and increase desire for others (relationships, for example). In my own experience, I definitely have felt that some things just don’t matter at all compared to my sense of safety or proximity to loved ones—especially when faced with existential crises. But it does make sense that people want to stay engaged as much as they can with anything they can still think or have feelings about.

Its f'kin lonely, I tell ya.

Any social animal, including humans, benefit greatly from regular positive social interactions.

the pandemic has proven this out. There are more people out there of any age who have been affected by isolation

Agreed 100%. Everyone needs some positive interactions in life otherwise we all decline. My grandma this past weekend simply lost the will to keep living in her state and committed suicide. She hadn’t been happy with her health for a time as she required constant care and decided to end it.

Sorry for your loss. Hope you and your family have comfort during this difficult time.

It's all fun and games until you realize your mind is slowly disintegrating and you start grasping at straws because you don't wanna disappear

In my opinion people with the severest mental decline tend to have the strongest desire to engage in public opinion and have lost all pretense at nuance.

Just wondering if there are any proven digital technologies to help keep engaged?