isolation

All the Lonely People

Posted on 05/22/2013 by Al Martinez | Latino Life | Comments

Home & Family | Relationships | Your LifeI received word the other day that a long-time acquaintance had died. We had worked together in the beginning years of my newspaper career, and while we hadn’t been that close, he nonetheless had represented a link in a circle of friends that was growing smaller every year. I was losing my history. Join the discussion: Grief and Loss — How do you cope? We were a hard-drinking, cigarette-smoking, fun-loving bunch back then, not eating right or exercising or generally …

Games for the 50+: Games Provide Family Caregivers With Time to Recharge

Posted on 05/6/2013 by Bob Stephen | Home & Family blogger | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | TechnologyI’ve been writing about the landmark gaming study by Dr. Jennifer Jacobs Henderson, associate professor and department chair, and Dr. Aaron Delwiche, associate professor, of the Department of Communication at Trinity University. Their study is based on over 32,000 users of Wizard101, an online multiplayer game that surprisingly has a large number of 50+ users. One of the biggest surprises to us at AARP are the findings that show gaming benefits for caregivers and those who have gone through a …

Games for the 50+: Benefits Include Socialization, Activity

Posted on 04/8/2013 by Bob Stephen | Home & Family blogger | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Relationships | TechnologyAt a conference last year, several of us at AARP had the chance to hear about the ways in which the 50-plus and those not quite 50 find benefits in playing online multiplayer games. There are several parts of that last statement that tend to elicit pushback from others — first, many believe online multiplayer video games are played by teens or young millennial men. Second, the idea of a multiplayer video game may elicit images of violent games which …

Let’s Dance: Generations Step to the Beat

Posted on 04/4/2013 by Laura Hahn | Volunteering | Comments

Caregiving | VolunteeringIt’s wedding season again, which means… it’s dance season! Or at least that’s how I look at it. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing better than the dance floor at a wedding. Old and young, experienced and not (mostly not), everyone comes together to celebrate. Six year olds hear their first Sinatra; 86 year olds hear their first Rihanna, for better or for worse. I say better. A few weeks ago, our DOROT Young Professionals group got a jump on …

A Winter’s Tale: Helping Seniors Weather the Cold

Posted on 01/23/2013 by Laura Hahn | Volunteering | Comments

Caregiving | VolunteeringThere’s a woman who sits in the square outside my office. Her name is Anna, and she’s 92. Her caregiver Magda wheels her there, just a couple blocks from her apartment, so she can feed the birds. Or, as Anna, a lifelong New Yorker, says, “the boyds.” Seeing Anna in the square is like seeing my friend Arthur at the theater. It’s her happy place. She could spend hours there, watching the boyds fly up to the rooftops and down …

A Modern Family: Bringing Generations Together for Dinner

Posted on 11/20/2012 by Laura Hahn | Volunteering | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | VolunteeringIn the three years I’ve known Arthur, we’ve never once sat at his dinner table — until last Thursday. We’ve eaten together plenty, don’t you worry. Food is very much a part of our visits. On my walks from work to his apartment, I usually pick up something for us to share — Vietnamese summer rolls, maybe, or cheese and a baguette. If the weather permits, we go to the farmer’s market nearby or to the food trucks lined up …