High Touch, High Tech

We all seem to have love-hate relationships with the electronic devices in our lives. We love ‘em when they work; we hate ‘em when they crash. It’s great to have instant communication worldwide. It’s awful when you’re settling back to enjoy a movie and the guy in the row behind you is chatting on his cell phone. We want our kids to be technologically fluent, but we worry when they spend hour after hour glued to the computer screen.

We are all aware of the physical problems that come with the use of electronic devices: stiff necks and sore shoulders, bleary eyes, repetitive motion injuries, big butts and flaccid muscles. So I confess I was heartened by a handful of photos that accompanied a recent article by Andrew Parker in The Sun Online.

It shows a number of seniors, some as old as 103, who have traded knitting and bridge for Wii, the Nintendo gaming console with a remote control device that is used three-dimensionally in space, so that gamers can play tennis or baseball, golf, bowl, even box in the comfort of their own living rooms. It’s a virtual sport that gives your arm a real workout … as the residents of the Sunrise Home in Birmingham have discovered to their delight.

It’s nice to read about a new technology that reaches across the generations with something good for everyone.


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