Silver-surfers
The shrinking generation gap is well-documented nowadays. Children who are 20 year old kids of parents who are 40 or 45 may find that their parents like the same music, films, and TV programmes as they do. This can be an excellent thing - greater understanding, better memory of ‘what it was like' for the parent growing up, and can lead to more leniency, more empathy and more understanding of what it is like for a child growing up these days. But it can also be a burden for the child. They may just want a parent, not a friend, and children may need a stricter parent-child dynamic. There are pros and cons. For the middle-aged parent, their own parents, who are over 70, or 80, will have grown up with a much larger generation gap, and their parents would usually not have enjoyed the same music as their kids did, growing up in the 60s and 70s. This can all mean that the over 70s are far, far away from the modern world of what ‘Generation Y' are now experiencing. They may have never even used a computer, and still don't understand what all the fuss is over the ‘new' internet. However, anyone can operate a computer, with a couple of fingers and the click of a mouse. They just need patient instruction. Once they can get the hang of it, this could open up a world of incessantly available information - something that is sure to interest and entice a mainly home-bound retiree. So, it is up to their children and Grand-children to show them the ropes. After a few basic lessons, they may be surfing the ‘net and pulling out information and facts that have always been lingering questions in their mind. Perhaps they can even join some social networking sites and find friends that they haven't seen in 50 years. They may even be interested in learning how to build a website. Imagine the possibilities - they could write a story about their entire life and cement it forever online. Once they make a website, they can also get things off their chest - while they bemoan the younger generation and things ‘not being what they used to be', they have a vent for their possible frustration with the wrongs of the modern society. Learning how to make a free website may also liberate them from what they thought their abilities and limitations were. With these preconceptions lifted, they may now have a new lease on life, and take up new hobbies, sports, and pastimes. Who knows what's next - bungee-jumping, sky-diving - perhaps the sky's the limit!
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John Meadow
Article Writer
Jimdo - Pages to the People.
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