When age has sanded down its sharp edges and vapourised the sharp top notes so that the mellow base notes can kick in, love remains just as vital — and necessary — a force.
In Shanghai, the city with the most number of elderly people in a country that has the world’s largest ageing population, love at twilight is a glimmer of hope. Lonely hearts of a certain vintage are hanging out in the city’s largest park and in the cafe of a global furniture chain to nurture their social lives and to find romance and companionship. The “fever of first love”, as Daphne du Maurier wrote in Rebecca, cannot happen twice but, as the single seniors of Shanghai show, it doesn’t need to. When age has sanded down its sharp edges and vapourised the sharp top notes so that the mellow base notes can kick in, love remains just as vital — and necessary — a force.
Consider the global context: According to the United Nations World Social Report 2023, population ageing is an irreversible trend — with the number of people aged 65 and above projected to rise from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2050. The question of how to care for a ballooning population of senior citizens has been pondered on by governments in some parts of the world, notably Europe, China and Japan, for a few years now. Yet, the question of love and companionship for the elderly — an essential component of well-being — receives little attention, thanks primarily to the entrenched belief that romance is a youthful preoccupation.
The sexagenarians (and older citizens) of Shanghai and other parts of the world who are actively seeking out love on dating apps, social clubs and elsewhere are challenging such shallow assumptions. In India, too, there is a growing number of older citizens using specialised matchmaking services and dating apps, with one app reporting a 30 per cent spike in users aged 50 and above since 2020. Love, songwriters over the decades have stated over and over again, can’t wait. It shouldn’t have to.
