A Reflection on COVID-19 Responses from a Person of over 60 years of Age

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This reflection essay is about the responses I obtained from an interview of a person over 60 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many lives were affected and have been affected due to the challenging economic times. People have been forced to scale down their budgets to afford basic needs, including food and access to healthcare services. Moreover, since many older people of over sixty years are retirees, they depend on their siblings since they have no income. They can afford to buy basic needs while some need care services to monitor their poor health statuses. In an interview with an older man of 60, I learned he was afraid of the pandemic because he had learned from national news reports that the elderly are at-risk population compared to younger adults and children. Some of the questions I asked the interviewee include how he is coping with the new technology in ordering food from retail and grocery stores, what he thought after receiving news of the disease outbreak, and how he would have handled the disease during his early 20s. From the interview, I learned that I should take responsibility for my life during my youth so that I can live happily when I get old.

Expectations before the Interview

Before I conducted the interview, I expected some of his responses would be how he has been careful not to contract the coronavirus diseases. Since the disease outbreak, I believe the most vulnerable population should take all precautionary measures to prevent disease transmission and even deaths. I would expect the interviewee would even be afraid to stay at a close distance from me as a prevention measure that has been announced by health organizations. I expected to hear that he was not moving a lot since he was abiding by the lockdown measures implemented by the government. On a personal level, I expected tension during the interview because the elderly might think I was trying to identify people with respiratory complications and report them to a hospital. Consequently, I expected the respondent might provide false answers to some questions he might feel are private. However, the interview was a success since my respondent was welcoming and volunteering to participate as I discovered he valuable interacting more with people.  

What I Learned During the Interview

I asked the interviewee how he has been coping with internet technologies in ordering from grocery stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. He replied that he is not a typical smartphone user and does not comprehend how online retail stores operate. He said internet technology was meant for the digital generation, and he preferred to use the old-fashion way of purchasing food from a physical store. He added that he relied on his siblings’ help to access information he needed from the internet, such as learning the latest statistics reports.

The second question I asked was what he thought after receiving news of the disease outbreak. He seemed calm about the pandemic and started explaining his philosophy about coming to terms with the end of life. He believed no one could determine how he or she dies and defended his will to live amid the pandemic. Nonetheless, he admitted being shocked about COVID-19, explaining that his generation had never faced a disease pandemic such as the current one. He added the disease seemed to be engineered by interest groups to gain profits from suffering populations. He believed there was a cure to the disease and that life would continue as expected, even if the virus mutated to resisted vaccines.

I asked how he would have handled the disease during his 20s, and he replied that he would follow government intervention measures strictly. He was keen to criticize the young generation by blaming them of adoptive reckless behaviors during the disease pandemic. He argued that youths of today are drawn to the pleasures and negligent of the dangers of the disease. He explained that his past generation took the responsibility seriously and did not waste valuable time engaging in partying and drinking like the current generation.

How the Interview Changed My Life

The part that interested me was the irresponsible behaviors the current generation has compared to the generation during his young age. I reflected on my behaviors as he explained how the digital generation is more engaged in leisure and less focused on planning for a better life. I liked how he explained coming to terms with life and discovered happiness by achieving satisfaction in life. He was not afraid to die from the COVID-19 disease, which made me think about what I am doing to protect my life from the disease. He was a responsible person during his younger ages, and that is why he was welcoming to me and willing to answer all my questions. His responses made me think that I should take the responsibility of my life seriously to rejoice and achieve anything I want before I get old.