Researchers Confront an Epidemic of Loneliness

Research about loneliness over the last few years has linked loneliness to physical illness and cognitive decline. After a  study revealed that 43 percent of people over 60 describe themselves as lonely and show certain physical and mental deficits as a result, it’s clear to see why countries such as the U.S. and Britain are creating programs to mitigate the problem.

The first few paragraphs of the article don’t reveal much information about what the article is truly about, but they are eye-opening and catch the reader’s attention. By starting off with a story about an older lady spending her 81st birthday alone and going a week without human interaction, this article dives headfirst into how loneliness is one of the hardest obstacles that older people face.

I feel like the article flows well, the author made sure to keep the paragraphs fairly short for readability, but still managed to pack in quite a bit of information. For example, not only did the article say how loneliness negatively affects the elderly both physically and mentally, but it also mentioned new programs that can combat this loneliness such as Silver Line Helpline.

I like the fact that the author used real life scenarios and quotes so readers can get a more intimate feel of how loneliness impacts the elderly. This article definitely has emotional and human interest appeal for that reason and made sure to incorporate these appeals into the title.

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