By: Sanvi Jain
I feel that the senior citizens in India aren’t very equipped & facilitated with technological devices, or even if they are, they don’t know much about using them. They aren’t very tech-savvy and are missing out on information, like text messages and news updates, being passed on all around the world. I think it’s important that we stand as teenagers to make this possible by teaching technology to them in every way possible.
They think that a phone has only one feature: to make calls. Teaching senior citizens about technology is really important in the world of today. Mobile phones have become an essential part of life to share information, connect with near and dear ones, or to even play time-passing games. Imagine the life of senior citizens residing in old age homes unable to connect with their family in this situation of quarantine. We should be the pillars of their support and make the impossible, I’m possible!
The first step should be to start with teaching the basics to your grandparents at home. The most challenging thing out of all would be finding patience. But, this would pay off, as this journey would not only teach your grandparents about technology, but also the youth as an individual about a lot of things. Interacting with your grandparents and spending quality time with them would teach you a lot about their life, choices, and results. I can say with confidence that the life stories of our grandparents can be either very interesting or very boring, but 99% of the time, they are interesting. Personally, I think one is very lucky to even have grandparents who are there to take care of them at home. They are the ones that are always there for you, and you can show your care and affection towards them by teaching something that you are good: being tech specialists, in your own way. It’s okay to not have a lot of time. Spending only 20 minutes with them or utilising your break time will make a lot of difference and you would start seeing the results soon after.
I am confident about this due to the amounts of difficulties I faced in connecting with my grandmother in the situation of COVID – 19. The pandemic made me realise that you can spend time with your grandparents through games, teaching technology and even taking out their life stories. If you want to video call or play online games with them, you would have to think about ways of teaching them this technology. So, next time you meet them, show them that you care for them by teaching them the latest technology, whether it be just using WhatsApp or any other social application on their phone.
Good luck!