Insta-gramma

By Darren Mann

https://duffy.agency/brandbase/older-adults-why-are-they-becoming-crucial-for-your-social-media-marketing/

Social media apps are an addictive outlet for a variety of individuals to connect with others from around the world, capture important moments of an individual’s life, and affirm an individual’s self-esteem. However, these apps can detract from the number of face-to-face conversations that individuals will have with each other and can lead to users of the app being obsessed with the number of likes, comments, and attention they get. Therefore, it was a refreshing change of pace when I taught my grandma how to use Instagram.

Before my lessons, my grandma had only used her phone to take the occasional photo for her camera roll and to text and call with others. Furthermore, she was previously unable to connect with some of her relatives around the world as the cost of long-distance messages ultimately was too expensive. Therefore, Instagram offered the perfect opportunity to reach out to others. At first, it was difficult to explain Instagram to her as there were a plethora of features to explain including stories, posts, filters, hashtags, and even tagging others in your photos. Subsequently, I tried to reiterate the basic features such as simply taking a photo and posting it, so that she would not be as confused.

Initially, my grandma had a very negative view of social media as she thought that us grandchildren spent too much time living in our virtual worlds instead of in our physical reality. Similarly, there were many family dinners and gatherings where our grandma had asked us to get off social media and put our phones away so that we could socialize in real life. Moreover, the constant buzzing and dinging of notifications from our phones would sometimes be overwhelming to her as it would sometimes feel like “our phones were going off every 5 seconds.”

After teaching my grandma how to use Instagram she believes that it serves a purpose and can be useful in connecting with family and friends from around the globe when other alternatives are too expensive or not as reliable (such as Skype, or texting). This includes reaching out to her relatives from Poland and friends who currently live in the United States. However, my grandma only believes that she will use it slightly more often as she believes that it is more important to live in the moment rather than being focused on taking and sharing as many pictures as possible.

Although my grandma noted that pictures are a great way to look back at experiences, they cannot compare to the memories and lived experiences that an individual has while doing an activity. Moreover, my grandma believes that individuals should enjoy the world through their own eyes instead of through a camera lens as there are many moments you may miss if you are focused on getting the right lighting, angles, or focus for a shot. By living through your phone my grandma believes that individuals are restricting their experiences and confining themselves to a digital prison. As with most things, moderation is essential.