According to an article on iKeepSafe, about 50% of the elderly generation is online. 40% of teens have helped their grandparents access the internet. In class, we have been discussing technology and who uses it. More recently we have focused on the utilization of social media by the older generation. I think it's important to acknowledge how significantly we can lessen the gap between our almost robotic-oriented youth and our old-fashioned elderly.
Some of the elderly generation remains content in their cluelessness. Others are hopping on the bandwagon, whether they dabble or dive in. About 30% of both teens and grandparents claim that technology has helped them communicate. I think this is extremely accurate. Meeting halfway between both generations' comfort zones is helping family members find commonalities although they come from different worlds. I know for me this proves to be very true.
My grandparents are located as far away as Wisconsin and Key West. Distance makes maintaining a relationship with them difficult. One of my grandmas uses the internet, the other still uses a flip phone she cant' even figure out how to use the camera on. The grandma who uses the internet rarely calls, except on holidays. She is an active Facebook user and stays in touch with her many grandchildren easily. She doesn't text but she e-mails. She lives around the majority of her family so although she is retired she stays very busy taking care of everyone. With our clashing schedules it is much easier to stay connected when I can pull up an e-mail and read it in my free time. My non-tech savvy grandma and I have a much more difficult time communicating. We play phone tag for a week at a time. And I know every time I want to talk to her I have to have at least an hour of free time. This makes me less likely to answer her calls. One grandma can log on and see my pictures and updates about where I am and what I am doing with my life. This makes conversing with her easier because she already knows some information that we can skip over having to relay to one another. My grandma who calls has no idea what I look like unless I send her pictures through the mail.
Another interesting point that the iKeepSafe article brings up is the popularity of un-traditional family situations. I know of many peers who were raised by grandparents rather than parents. My best friend was raised by her grandmother because her mother was not suited to care for her. Growing up she was much more sheltered and had much more household rules to follow. Her grandmother raised her the way she herself was raised, many many years ago. Having a base knowledge of technology and the world that the younger generation is growing up in helps grandparents playing the role of guardians connect with the children they are raising.
Not to say relationships are based upon the medium of communicating, or that grandparents who don't use the internet are ignorant or should be paid less attention to. However, finding common ground is definitely proving to be beneficial in bridging the generation gap.
http://www.ikeepsafe.org/be-a-pro/relationships/connecting-grandparents-and-grandkids-through-technology/
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