UC Essay-Helping the elderly Anonymous

"Hey Gran how have you been hol-"

"Graaan? Can you hea-"

"Great, she can't hear us. *Sigh*. Mom, I thought Dad fixed issues with her sound?"

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"

During the initial lockdowns, I tried to keep in touch with my grandmother in London over Zoom. The experience was entirely frustrating. She could never figure out how to connect her audio or even turn her video on. I would kill hours, walking her step-by-step through Zoom-structions, to no avail.

Every call made me feel helpless, even more so when I considered how difficult this was for her. I thought about her life, much of which was without the influence of modern technology. For most, the lockdown strengthened our reliance on technology and became a main form of communication. People like my grandmother became overlooked and isolated because of their lack of computer skills.

Upon realizing this, I joined an organization that taught seniors how to use communication platforms. Each session required patience, as questions were often rambling or repetitive. I recall one student, Revati, who posed nearly the same questions about creating a Zoom meeting every session, and grouched when I gave her identical answers each time. When we finally resolved one...