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The Compass: Why We Play: Why We Play: Old age

Factual

Why We Play: Old age

02/02/2022 GMT

Why We Play

BBC World Service - The Compass, Why We Play, Why We Play: Old age

We don’t have to stop playing as we reach old age, and we probably shouldn’t

Tomorrow’s old people will have grown up expecting to play, and be familiar with digital technology. What will play look like in future, and will it go beyond bridge and bingo?

Many of today’s old people grew up in an era when life was hard, retirement short, and opportunities for play limited. But as we live longer, we need to seek out playful activities, for both physical and mental health. 

We visit a bridge club for older people, where many members started to learn the game after they retired, to keep their brains sharp and give them social opportunities. We visit a care home in Scotland where the management frequently organise play sessions, such as pretend weddings, and where disco bingo is a regular event. And in Jerusalem, we meet two older men, one Arab, one Jewish, who come together over a shared love of backgammon.  But will the old people of tomorrow want to move beyond these traditional games, and if so, what will the play of the future look like?

The Compass: Why We Play

As we take our first steps into the world, playing is how we explore and understand it.

Play is universal across human cultures and time. Most mammals play, even into adulthood, but it’s an evolutionary puzzle: at best, time spent playing looks like time wasted; at worst, having your attention diverted by play puts you at risk of being eaten by a predator. But humans are the pre-eminent playful species, from babies’ rattles through to bridge clubs for seniors. It’s claimed that play makes us creative, helps us select mates, and staves off cognitive decline. This series looks at play across cultures, through time, and during the course of a single human life.  It’s a universally-relevant exploration of why play is both the most joyful and the most serious part of all of us.

Image: An adult passes a child a plastic brick (Credit: Getty Creative)

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