I've recently started visiting my grandmother every week so that she can see me during the week instead of only on Sundays when we invite her for dinner, and I've realized how our digital culture has cut off people like her from those they love... don't worry, I'll cover how it has connected them later... Whenever I visit, she asks me about the lives of my immediate family as well as aunts and cousins, because she cannot access all this information herself.
My grandmother has been cut off because she does not have the same access or understanding of modern technology as the rest of us. she understands some of what computers are capable of and is aware that nearly all our communication with the family is using the internet, but hasn't the wherewithal to use it. Because of this new technology, her descendants do not alert everyone via phone or letter, but quickly through facebook or email.
She feels cut off and ignored because we do not call her about all the things we post online. We, of course, cannot be expected to tell her everything, but because she is already cut off from the rest of the family, it makes it worse that we know things that she doesn't.
I wonder if Digital Sweet Home can use their presentation to help our others like her. could they perhaps present to a nursing home or retirement home so that those wonderful people can learn how to better interact with those they love. It would certainly be difficult, but if they could pull it off, I think it'd be incredibly rewarding.
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