Meet me on the Web

Social networking on the Web is not just for kids anymore. For elders, a virtual community is suited to best serve the real need for social interaction. In the late stages of life, and of course when one is living in a nursing home, there’s a good chance that family and friends are scattered geographically. Limited mobility leaves elders dependent on others for initiating visits. With email, suddenly no one is so far away.

While it’s great to be in touch with loved ones, it’s also nice to meet new people and the Web can help there as well. Inspired by the idea of MySpace – meeting new people around the world with whom you share interests – but finding it quite youth slanted, Marian Van Eyk McCain started ElderwomanSpace for social networking for women of the “third age.” It’s an offshoot of her Elderwoman site Just like other online social networks, there are discussion groups, photo sharing, blogs and comment boards. It’s easy to lose track of time this way and while it is still a screen and not a face you are facing, humanity and discovery still comes through. The women on ElderwomanSpace talk about everything from gardens to their families to the issues facing elderwomen.

So, how can we get folks in nursing homes on the Web? Do elders have access to computers at your facility? Any ideas about getting folks interested activities on the net? The Web is really the most immediate tool we have for combating the isolation elders face in nursing homes and it is right in front of our faces, literally. How can we put it to good use?

Elder Storytelling on the Web

It is easy for us to get to hear the stories of the famous people and events in history, but I think the combined stories of ordinary folks are the ones that can best paint a story of our past and our humanity. I’m not alone in this. Anyone ever heard of Ken Burns?

Can you imagine what a nursing home would look like if we could see the stories of our elders projected on the walls and floating around in the air? Such a wealth! Taping into elders’ wealth of stories can make the day more enjoyable and rewarding for everyone. Elders have an opportunity to give of themselves and staff get to know them better giving all involved a greater sense of meaning and purpose.

Friends and family know each other’s stories. It’s one of the reasons we find story telling essential for creating home in long-term care. We get to know each other this way. We can also help facilitate relationships when we recognize a common bond between residents and staff members.

Person-centered care focuses on the individual, but a lot can also be gained from understanding the shared history of elders and the years that shaped their lives. Since history often repeats itself, you may be struck by similarities to current events to those events that have shaped our elders’ lives and world earlier in time. This is a great way to start a conversation with an elder about something you both have experienced. It is a way to recognize shared humanity.

There are some great websites dedicated to elder story telling. You could get lost for days in them, reading snapshots of people’s lives. I hope they will give you understanding and inspiration. These sites also have ways for readers to contribute stories. Pull yourself and an elder up to a computer and share a story with the rest of us! You could also use a story from one of these sites as an ice breaker or learning circle to get folks to share their own stories.

I, Witness to History was founded in 1996 by the residents and staff of Larksfield Place retirement community. They had their eye on the means as well as the end: “The process of writing one’s story, promotes personal insight, provides an added sense of self-worth, restores a measure of self-control in one’s life, and provides much-needed social interaction.”

The site is a huge library of stories that you can search by author or topic or just browse. There’s some great tips and info about collecting stories and creating a program like I, Witness to History. You’ll also find info on their inter-generaltional program.

I also love Time Goes By: What It’s Really Like Getting Older blog/site by Ronni Bennett. Time Goes By features great elder issue pages like Elder Video (links for clips featuring elders on YouTube). Ronni’s blog is fantastic and there are links to about a gazillion blogs by folks 50 and older and even a page of photos if the actual rooms where related bloggers do their blogging. There’s also info on setting up your own blog. It’s not for everyone, but I bet you could find a resident or two or four who would like to do their own blog. Not ready to commit to a blog? The Elder Storytelling Place –an offshoot of Time Goes By – is a great place to read and submit one-off stories by elders.

Know of other great places on the Web for elders to share their stories? Let us know in a comment.

The Future of Culture Change

There’s no denying it, the future, and frankly the present, of almost everything is on the Web. “Oh, certainly not elders and nursing homes,” you may say. But, yes! And here’s why: A)The Internet is a fast, effective and cheap way to spread information on things like, say, culture change. B) The Internet is a fast, effective and cheap way for people, like elders in nursing homes, who are separated from their families and the world in general because of limited mobility, to participate in community.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be blogging about the web and elders. Presenting elder centered websites, ways to be involved in the culture change movement on the web and ways and reasons to get elders in front of a computer. Plus, Action Pact has some great online tools coming down the pipe because the capabilities of the Web offer great learning opportunities.

I’d like to start things by saying while I am a member of Generation X, my computer skills are a bit of an embarrassment and even though the virtual dictionary is a click away, I usually find myself reaching for the bound Websters on my desk. I can think of five Baby-Boomer-and-beyond friends off the top of my head who spend more time on the net and are more comfortable with it than I am. I’m telling you this so you know we will be learning together. Because, let’s face it, our culture has changed the way it sends and receives information. Let’s hope the way we give and receive care in homes instead of institutions will catch on as quickly and well.