BiggerPockets

Explaining Social Media to my 104-year-old Great-Grandmother

Monday, September 21

My great-grandmother is now 104 years old. While her sight is gone and her hearing is barely there, she’s still the gifted conversationalist and thinker she always was. Though she stays informed (and extremely opinionated) with the aid of news radio, she is not entirely current in her knowledge of things technological. Yet, being the caring grandmother she is, her life is enriched by the achievements of her progeny. In response to my birthday card, she wrote (by proxy) a letter of thanks which naturally included questions about my current personal and professional endeavors, my love life and every other area in which loving grandparents are so keenly interested.

How to respond? What is it exactly that I do? How to communicate this to a beloved centenarian? Consider these facts about my prababièka (Czech for great-grandmother):

• The town where she was born, near International Falls, MN, was almost entirely Czech-speaking. Although American born, Czech is her first language, and she still speaks in her native tongue on occasion.

• Her family frequently traded food and goods with the American Indians that lived near her farm. They had not yet been resettled and were considered “wild”.

• Her familiarity with computers is limited to the knowledge that they exist. She knows nothing of the internet or mobile phones, let alone the text messaging or social media that comprise a large part of my job description.

While her knowledge of the technological age that you and I inhabit is nonexistent, her capacity for imagination remains as healthy as it ever was. My prababièka experienced the birth of the Model T, the first and second World Wars, Women’s Suffrage, the Prohibition Era, the Great Depression, the struggle for civil rights, and countless other monumental events in the course of American, and human, history. Yet, of equal or greater importance to her are the things that populate the lives of her loved ones. Things that are important to me, however trivial or insignificant to the world around me, are important to her, too.

I find it difficult to describe what I do to even my tech-savvy mom and dad, both of whom were early adopters of the web, but are struggling to keep apace of social media and things like Twitter and LinkedIn. How on Earth can I possibly explain it to my 104 year-old great grandmother? I won’t be doing this here, but I’ll start by defining terms and breaking down concepts, and then explain to her how it all applies to my day-to-day life.

People like my prababièka are increasingly rare. However, we will all come across a situation in which we will be asked to explain our use of modern tools like blogging, social media, text messaging, mobile apps, in our professional and personal lives (if such distinctions are even still important) to others that are, to varying degrees, unfamiliar with this world. In another likely scenario, you may be asked to articulate your grasp and usage of things like Twitter to someone who is equally current, but seeking your unique strategy, opinion, or philosophy. This might occur in an interview setting, during a media inquiry, or in everyday communication with peers. In each case, it is important that we can demonstrate our understanding of such things without relying on industry buzzwords, overly-technical jargon and the assumption that our audience is on similar footing.

I’m as guilty as anyone in this regard. This is why, as I begin to think of better ways to convey my experience with social media to just one person, I am struck by the value in the mental exercise that helps me get there. In thinking up a coherent, accessible explanation of my place in the virtual world, the way I understand its operation and utility, and the view from my virtual window, I am better able to speak to anyone about a variety of related issues and concepts.

I urge you to start your own self-study and reflection as soon as you can. Help yourself and others by sharing what you find in the comments below.

Comments

1. 

   Jon Klaus Reply
   over 2 years ago

   She sounds like a great lady, and you are to be commended for understanding that and knowing that you can learn much from her.

   We have a tendancy to think we are the greatest generation, when we are really just standing on the shoulders of those who have come before us.

   Understanding history, our own legacy, and who we really are, will help ground us, and even hopefully give us a timeless perspective. A perspective a bit closer to God's view.

   We live much faster now, but is that really better?

2. 

   Ian Greenleigh Reply
   over 2 years ago

   Jon-

   Thanks for your kind words! She really is an amazing person. She continues to live for others, and she serves as a model for her family in this regard.

   Have a wonderful day.

3. Bob Reply
   over 2 years ago

   Hi Ian,

   You are truly blessed to have your Grandmother around. Like you, me Grandmother is a wealth of information and common sense that is difficult to find these days. On the topic of explaining social media I find that it's best to put it terms that resonate with them. I like to explain it in terms of a "Cocktail Party" where people can talk about things that are important in their lives but instead of a one on one it is more like a one on 10,000.

4. 

   Ian Greenleigh Reply
   over 2 years ago

   Bob-

   Right! That's a great way to put it. You can scour the field of conversations, join the ones you wish, and then break it down from there into more personal contact. Thanks for sharing!

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