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How Technology Can Help You Feel Closer to Your Loved One in Senior Living

Senior couple using video chat to connect with family members.

As humans, we’re hard-wired to crave connections. Social interaction benefits our mental health and allows us to be a part of a community.

But what if in-person interactions aren’t easily accessible? Thankfully, technology’s ever evolving presence in our lives offers unique solutions to connect with loved ones. This is especially true for families with aging parents or grandparents living in senior living communities. Whether it be long distance or busy, conflicting schedules, sometimes it’s hard to find time to visit.

Keep reading for ways technology can help you feel closer to your loved one in a senior living community.

Technology and Social Interaction Opportunities

The following can help you communicate and stay connected with your loved one in senior living:

Emails: Email offers a quick opportunity to write long-form messages to loved ones. Although there’s something special about receiving a handwritten letter, this is a simple solution to having a pen pal that gives you instant access to their electronic letters.
Phone Calls: Talking on the phone gives you a chance to hear your loved one’s voice and for them to hear yours. All it takes is working the phone call into your daily routine. Schedule a time, or a few times, each week to catch up and talk about what’s going on in your life.
Text Messages: While it may not be the most personal way to communicate, text messages are a quick and convenient way to send short messages to a loved one. Even a quick, “I’m thinking of you!” text is sure to brighten their day.
Social Media: Social media platforms like Facebook give you and your loved one an opportunity to stay up to date on each other’s lives through posts and photos. Social media even allows us to play fun online games with friends and family. Facebook includes numerous games to play, like Words with Friends or trivia, that can help you and your loved one connect and have fun.
Video Calls: Video calls offer an opportunity to not only hear your loved one’s voice, but also to see their face. Video calls are a great way to take advantage of technology to stay connected to your loved ones. This visual way of communicating is the next best thing if a face-to-face conversation isn’t feasible. And, you can use these programs from a cell phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer – whatever is easiest for you, no matter if you’re at home or on the go. Some free video call tools include: Skype, Google Hangouts (you need a Google account) and Facebook Video Chat (you need a Facebook account).

By taking advantage of the numerous technology available, you’re able to stay even more connected to loved ones who live in a senior living community. Although nothing compares to a personal visit, digital interactions make maintaining close connections even easier.

Experience an Engaging Lifestyle at Peabody

At Peabody Retirement Community, our residents enjoy using technology to stay healthy, engaged and connected to those they love. We offer free WiFi campus-wide for your personal use. This way, you can use the campus iPads wherever you want to set up a video call or chat with your family.

Connect with us on Facebook! And if you’d like to learn more about technology at Peabody and how you can stay connected to your loved one if you can’t visit, please contact our team today.