Sometimes we think of love as the realm of the young, but old people's hearts are just as tender. But the spaces available for old people to court are few, and these "twilight lovers" often find it hard to find somewhere to meet others.
IKEA, the massive Swedish furniture chain, has become a popular site for old people to gather thanks to its comfortable atmosphere and cheap cafe. The IKEA branch in Xuhui, Shanghai, even set up a dating corner for the elderly in 2007. But this October, IKEA introduced a policy that people had to order before they sit down at the restaurant, because the crowding caused by elderly cheapskate romantics was affecting the firm's regular business. .
Sun Pengbiao, secretary of the Shanghai City Institute of Gerontology, said “we should not blame the elderly; instead, we should think what we can do for the elderly to meet their multiple needs,” according to People’s Daily Online, the web site of People’s Daily. Some netizens from uschinapress.com, a news site for overseas Chinese, commented that this restriction should press people to care more about the old. Others argued that their parents could be among the elderly who need such services and that it could even be their own future. But Sina News’ survey showed about 70 percent netizens agreed with IKEA's restriction because the elderly often occupy seats for too long, blocking others.
According to government statistics, 30.2 percent of the population of Shanghai is over 60. The Paper, a news site from Shanghai, also noted that the number of elderly single people would be increasing in the future. Zheng Yue, a professor of East China Normal University, commented that vulnerable groups have less public spaces available for them..
It's hard for a lot of young people to find a suitable partner. But the old people interviewed said it could be equally difficult for them. Because of the lack of public space, some old people are turning to online dating uschinapress.com noted. And The Paper reported that while young people have to worry about money and housing, old people are free to choose their partners more directly. It added that in order to avoid legal problems in wills, many old people prefer to live together without getting married.
Zhou Yumin, director of the Shanghai Marriage Agency Management Association, told People’s Daily Online that the elderly take children’s feelings and issues of property after marriage into consideration seriously. But Zhou noted that some elderly people are also restrained from finding love because they have little idea about how to chat with other people, and often compare their prospective partners with their former husband or wife.
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