Communication
¬†I recently read an article from the LA Times, that was run in the Living section of the Trenton Times on July 3rd. It was titled ‚ÄúGrandma, you’ve got mail‚Äù and told the story of seniors taking computer classes. The article was very interesting and there were some great quotes from both the student volunteers teaching the courses and the seniors taking advantage of them.
We’ve known for awhile that there is a “digital divide” among the generations. Certainly there are some more mature users of such technology was email, cell phones and even Facebook, gasp! But there are also those older adults that either fear the computer, or just have no interest. One quote from the LA Times piece that really caught my attention was this, “It scares me”, Edythe Eisenberg said of her iPad. “But when I call my kids and grand kids they don’t call me back, so I have to use e-mail.” This really touched me as a sad aspect of our growing reliance on computer technology and non-verbal communication.
I think technology is great and offering seniors a chance to learn how to use and not fear some of these new technologies is also great, if they want them. However, those of us that are caught up in the fast paced world of communicating with our friends and colleagues through mostly email, text or online chats should not forget the seniors in our lives that want to hear from us. Your mother, father, grandmother or grandfather shouldn’t feel forced to use a technology they don‚Äôt like just because it is the only way to hear from you. Pick up the phone and say, ‚Äúhey, how are you today?‚Äù Don‚Äôt miss that chance to learn something, help out with something or just connect, with an actual voice. It will be good for them and for you.
Technology is good for those who like it, but let’s remember to communicate to each other in the best way possible, which sometimes may be using the old fashioned telephone or dropping by for a face to face. But by all means if you grandma wants to be on Facebook, teach her how to get online! Who knows, maybe she’ll log on to match.com!