A New York Times article last year detailed how being called 'sweetie' or 'dear' chips away at the dignity of older people. 'Professionals call it elderspeak, the sweetly belittling form of address that has always rankled older people,' the article says. The piece refers to studies showing 'that the insults can have health consequences, especially if people mutely accept the attitudes behind them.'

去年《紐約時報》上的一篇文章詳細講述了對年長的人來說，被稱為“親愛的”有損他們的尊嚴。文章中說，這種甜蜜但帶有貶低色彩的稱呼形式總會讓年長的人感到惱怒。文章引述了研究結果，說這顯示出這種侮辱性稱呼能帶來健康問題，特別是如果人們默默地接受了稱呼背后的態度時。