04 Jul 2020 | 03:37am IST
Senior Citizens break digital barriers in lockdown times!
With most senior citizens forced to stay indoors during the on-going pandemic, many have willingly broken the digital barriers and picked up knowledge of digital apps like ‘Zoom’, ‘Google Meet’ and WhatsApp to remain connected with their friends and family…
By Rahul Chandawarkar
Rookma Poy Raiturcar (75) is a septuagenarian who believes in keeping with the times. An Inner Wheel member for the last 40 years, this energetic lady from Comba, Margao picked up the nitty-gritty of the Zoom app from her grandson during this lockdown period. This new skill has helped her take part in Zoom video meetings with her Inner Wheel members.
Speaking to Café on Friday, Raiturcar said, “We conducted a very big meeting for our Inner Wheel district assembly via Zoom on June 28
th. The zoom app is magical. It is clear and very audible. It is almost as if all members were face to face with each other.” According to Raiturcar, every senior citizen must make an effort to learn apps like Zoom to remain connected with the world. “This pandemic has prevented senior citizens from stepping out. It is therefore important to remain connected digitally,” she said. On the other hand, Ina Peres da Silva ( 82) from Chicalim is no newcomer to digital and mobile apps. With her children and grandchildren living and working across the globe, she was a digital citizen even before this lockdown. Says the cheerful octogenarian, “The WhatsApp has been a major boon for people like me. It is an excellent medium for messages and phone calls.” Peres da Silva said that it was her youngest, US-based daughter Supriya, who introduced her to a Zoom call during the lockdown. “Thanks to Supriya’s initiative, our large family has had four, Zoom meetings in the last three months. The Zoom meetings are a lot of fun, as we can see and hear everyone so clearly. All you need is the link and you click on it!” However, Peres da Silva rues the poor quality of internet connectivity in the state of Goa. “Every so often, my bank will tell me that the ‘internet is down’ and is unable to help me. Our state government must take up this challenge and ensure that internet connectivity improves across our state.” The good news is that octogenarians outside Goa have also picked up the digital challenge. Eighty-eight-year old, Sahaji M Rao from faraway Kochi is one such individual. When her paternal family organised a ‘Google Meet’ session for her fellow octogenarian and septuagenarian cousins, she got her granddaughter to help her set up the online session. Says Rao, “It was the most wonderful of experiences. The online video chat session brought back so many childhood memories as my cousins chatted with each other and recalled the old times. I am looking forward to more such sessions in the near future.” For the 84-year-old Kusum Gokarn of Pune, the online digital world is nothing new. An active poet and editorial contributor to ‘Dignity Dialogue’ the popular, senior citizens’ magazine, Gokarn is quickly coming to terms with online editions of the monthly magazine being emailed to her. Says Gokarn, “Reading 64 pages online is much more difficult and cumbersome than the print editions of the past, but I am getting used to it.” Gokarn is also a member of multiple WhatsApp groups and is so engrossed reading and responding to messages all-day long, that she admits ignoring her daily newspaper and books completely.
