Construction of Networking Game for Addressing Social Isolation in a Super-Aging Society - Innovative Management in Information and Production - page 340

“alive” according to the family register but whose whereabouts are unknown has
reached 234,354. Of these, 77,118 people are, according to the register, over 120
years old, and 884 over 150 years old.
Such phenomena appear to be the result of weakening social bonds, owing to a
lack of basic communication, eventually leading to social isolation [White Paper on
the Aging Society (2011)]. We must generate practical and effective measures to
respond to this issue, as soon as possible. A host of issues facing the aging society
have been raised, centered on the aim of a healthy long life ( Abe 2007 ). Initially,
we must identify the causes of the problems surrounding the aged, which involve a
complex variety of factors. It is thought that, by 2030, 10 % of the elderly may suffer
from dementia and 40 % are expected to live alone. In addition, there is an urgent
need to discuss, and implement on a national basis, specific measures to respond to
issues that we are likely to face by 2025, when the baby boomers reach the age of
75. Recent studies suggest that the risk of typical elderly ailments such as dementia
increases in response not merely to biological factors such as aging but also to social
factors such as lack of communication ( Barabasi 2006 ). The studies also suggest
that the risk of dementia varies considerably depending on the existence of social
networks ( Watts and Strogatz 1998 ).
The causes of these problems likely include changes in family structures that
may lead to an increased number of elderly people living alone and changes in
communities in modern society that may lead to a weakening of social bonds.
In this paper, we focus on social isolation among the elderly to better understand
the reality of their lives and analyze the relationship between the factors behind
changes in the family structures of the elderly and their social isolation and changes
in modern communities. We also investigate new forms of communication aimed at
improving the quality of life in a longevity society. Methodologically, we propose
and examine a basic means to enhance local community networks, based on a
scale-free network as a foundation for local community formation.
From these considerations, we propose a new networking game for constructing
the scale-free network in our daily life.

2 Community Design for Eliminating Social Isolation

Among Elderly

2.1 Promoting Social Participation by Elderly

Promoting social participation by elderly people will be indispensable to addressing
social isolation and building community bonds. The Cabinet Office survey on
community participation by the elderly reveals that the number of elderly people
wishing to join community activities in the future and/or interested in nonprofit
organization (NPO) activities is increasing, indicating that an increasing number
of elderly people are wishing to share common values or build bonds focused on
common interests, despite weakening community bonds ( Gallie et al. 2003 ).