digital sweet home: for the better

Last time I wrote about how I visit my grandmother and how she has been cut off because of the internet and the culture that has evolved from it - and other technologies. Today, the focus is on how digital culture has helped to connect people like her despite the inaccessibility for people in her situation. 

 

Because of the internet, cell phones, tv, etc. we are able to connect on levels previously unimagined. Not only can we connect with friends through multiple sites, but through phones as well, storing every number within the same devise we use to call. It has never been easier to keep track of those we care about. We can alert a whole group of big events through texts or emails (although it may not be personal). We can see what people are doing with their lives without bombarding them with questions.

My mother lives in Washington, but always knows what is going on in the lives of her children, siblings, and nieces and nephews through facebook. She originally disliked the idea behind facebook, but now spends more time than any of her children on it. Through facebook, my mother and I are able to inform my grandmother of everything going on with the family. Without digital culture, we couldn't share this wealth of information with her, thus allowing her to still connect with children and grandchildren when we does see them.

How can we further this opportunity? How can we use this technology to improve the lives of many? Is it better that we are the go-between, or should those like my grandmother be introduced to the technology available so that they can access it themselves, but miss the interaction with "the messenger"?