Giving Intergenerational Communication An Assist

Game pieces that help link generations.

Frequently, in this hectic world, many people try to remain connected to technology as long and often as they can. Such all-encompassing connection can leave people out, especially elders who haven't grown up with constant connectivity and rely on the older, more basic forms of communication. These require more attentiveness and focus and often become the basis for intimate sharing. How do we unite the old with the new? How do we connect generations that are used to communicating in different ways?

Christine Lhowe (formerly Valerio) has been working on this issue and coming at it from the perspective of an educator and designer. She is lead designer at SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS and has been teaching undergraduates in Communication Design at NYC College of Technology. Her personal work has focused on intergenerational communication and working with memory as part of the design process.



Christine's interests led her into a design project, WITH ME, which utilizes games to connect people in meaningful interactions, especially joining elders in connecting with loved ones. She stated, "I believe that older adults are an overlooked and underserved population, who are often misunderstood. I have always felt that the amount that we can learn from our elders is a deeply underestimated part of the American culture. We tend to witness aging from the perspective of loss and we internalize it based off of what we see on the outside. All too often, we let our internalizations develop into stereotypes and prejudices. It's time to change the conversation about aging and to more deeply integrate our elders into the fabric of our society."

The With Me concept was built on three games, now four, which slow people down and allow them to be present with each other. Talk With Me utilizes words, life's toughest words, to drive the conversation. It's about learning together and about each other. Write With Me utilizes paper, letters to be exact, to say what can be hard to say out loud, with someone else. What does happen when two people sit together silently, not talking out loud, but writing to each other? Recall With Me uses memories as a way to connect. Can the past bring two people together? Can an appreciation for each other grow, as life experiences are recalled? Connect With Me is about the bond, being present together in the moment. What happens when two people work together towards the same end? With Me allows connection between individuals on several levels through these games.

Workshop participants testing the games.

Christine's design background helped to make the games attractive and to encourage the interactions. Before distribution, the games were tested at a workshop in a senior center in Rutherford, NJ, which brought together both elders and younger individuals. The hope is that copies of the game can be produced and shared at senior centers, assisted living facilities, along with homebound seniors and intergenerationally in families.

From Christine's thesis work with seniors.

Thanks to information from this article by Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/christine-valerio-with-me/; and from the above links.

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