A Rosary or Phone

It must have been midnight, the room was pitch dark and I was asleep when suddenly I felt a hand shaking my head. I jumped off my bed to see mom standing there! I was terrified “ Is everything all right, I asked. “No, it’s not!" she replied. My heart skipped a beat. I asked “ What’s wrong, please tell me,” She said, "I am in trouble and I need your help urgently”. I looked at my watch it was 2:30 in the night! In a fraction of a second my BP rose to 200/100 thinking what can probably be wrong with her, is she not well or got some bad news about any of our relatives and while I was juggling between these thoughts she jumped on to my bed and said “ I am being unable to log into facebook!" "FACEBOOK...2:30 in the night?" I said astonishingly. She smiled and said, “Remember, its Neeti Masi’s Birthday today, I wrote a nice poem and quote and wanted to post it on her wall but the facebook app is not working it seems". I was either reactionless or too full of reactions and therefore I preferred to stay mum! I took her mobile and changed some settings after which the Facebook app worked! And trust me the smile and happiness I saw on mom’s face was worth a thousand dollars!

Mom is an M.A LLB ( lawyer) by qualification but preferred to become a housewife and stay with us and manage home. I feel our mothers have done the greatest sacrifice they could, by giving up on their careers for their children and family. She spent her entire life taking care of us and dad and when we lost dad 14 years back, life for her came to a standstill! She forgot to laugh and talk! We tried hard to divert her but I think everyone has the right to choose his way to remain happy and engaged. Ma too chose hers the day she decided to leave a feature phone and buy a smartphone. She was happy, after long, really long!It’s been more than a year that she has become a smartphone user and sometimes I feel she has learnt more about the digital world than me ?

She has got connected with all her relatives near or far through facebook!And that’s not the end, most of my friends are also on her list and they chat more regularly with her as compared to me. Mom has revived her childhood interest of writing by connecting with some writers’ groups on social media. She writes, narrates and enjoys!

According to the Pew Research Center, Internet use among 60 years plus increased by 150 percent between 2009 and 2011, the largest growth in a demographic group. Furthermore, their 2012 study showed that of those that go online, 71 percent do so daily and 34 percent use social media. The elderly use these tools to bridge the geographic gap between them and their loved ones who are far away and also as a way to re-connect with friends from a far-off time. Studies show that the internet has become an important portal for reducing isolation, loneliness and other depressive symptoms. Facebook, serves quite well for the older generation. Seniors have discovered that Skype is a great way these elderly use to connect with relatives staying far away. Twitter has become popular for keying into specific news sections they want to follow.

And guess what, the other day when I went to a friend’s place, I saw her 62-year-old mom lying on the bed like a little girl, waving her legs back and forth, chatting with her daughter on what’s app! This is the same aunty, who never forgets to send me a good morning message and picture every morning on whats app.

Like my mom and aunty, there are hundreds of seniors who pass through isolation and loneliness! If only each one of us decides to take the onus of educating one of our seniors about digital media, we would definitely see more ‘teethless’ smiles ?

So next time that you decide to gift your mom or granny a rosary or ‘japa mala’ try replacing it with a smartphone and you would really open up a world of happy smiles for them!