Two Thumbs Up For Cyber-Seniors
by Ami Schnauber, vice president, advocacy and public policy, LeadingAge New York
Following the annual block party, this
year’s Annual Conference kicked off with a
screening of Cyber-Seniors, a humorous and
heartwarming documentary that chronicles
the story of a group of senior citizens as they
discover the world of the world wide web with
the help of teenagers.
Cyber-Seniors follows along with
several seniors as they learn to set up
e-mail and Facebook accounts and
even begin recording and posting
videos. Their internet training
allows the seniors to connect with
loved ones like never before. The
collaborations among the seniors
and teens lead to the creation of
Cyber-Seniors Corner, a YouTube channel where
student-senior teams develop and upload videos
featuring seniors sharing their wisdom and
humor.
My favorite part of the film was
watching 88-year-old Shura’s cooking
demonstration. From her small apartment
kitchenette, Shura demonstrates how to
make a grilled cheese sandwich with an
iron and how to cook corn-on-the-cob in a
kettle – perfect for any senior apartment
or college student dorm room! Shura’s
video success challenged other seniors to
create their own and a video contest was
born. You will have to watch
the movie yourself to see all the
great video entries and find out
the winner of the competition.
Cyber-Seniors bridges the gaps
between seniors and technology
as well as the generations and
proves that you are never too
old to learn something new.
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