Bondz

Globalization, rapid technology development, and adoption of social media have changed the way society is organized and how it communicates. While younger generations have quickly adapted to the new digital and technological tools available to connect with others, it is not necessarily the case for the elderly, who find it more and more challenging to socialize and connect with family. The elderly are becoming increasingly disconnected from their families, resulting in social isolation and loneliness. The Center for Disease Control reports that one out of four elderly suffer from social isolation- which increases the risk of mortality by 45%, the risk of dementia by 50%, and rivals the risk of smoking 15 cigarettes daily. Although we have the technologies available to us to stay connected with family, our elderly family members are slow to adopt them and are resistant to change. They do not want to learn anything new despite feeling isolated and lonely. They have done so much for the younger generations and we want to do the same for them in return, but we find it difficult to make time for them with our busy schedules. We feel ashamed and guilty about the lack of attention we give to them and wish we could easily share our experiences and strengthen our family relationships. Our team is doing something about it! We gather social media posts from family members and use artificial intelligence in order to select and package them together into a format that is familiar for the elderly: a family newsletter on paper or email. It’s automatic and easy for both the elderly and their family members. This periodic newsletter will help foster deeper and more meaningful engagements across generations, reducing the degree of social isolation among the elderly.