Everyone’s parents and grandparents adapt to new technology differently. Some are always curious and aren’t afraid to make some mistakes. I am pretty confident my grandma didn’t use the internet (she died in 2000 at 80) but I am always hearing stories of friends’ grandparents who send email (IN ALL CAPS) or who recently learned the difference between YouTube and Hulu.
I asked an instructor of mine from Rutgers to write a letter of recommendation for a fellowship I’m applying for. He did, and I’ll be writing a thank you note this weekend. Even though I sent email thank yous to all of them, I feel that paper cards are still appreciated. The problem is, he’s not faculty at Rutgers, lives in a suburb near Philadelphia, and I didn’t want to call the administrator over there for her to dig it up. Solution: Google.
But would a guy who just passed 80 years old have his home address online? Short answer, yes. On a paper he drafted for a USDOT study, which had been uploaded in a PDF.
The best part was the other stuff I found. He has been posting on various internet discussion boards and articles every once in a while, and I found a few. I am pretty impressed with his confidence to go out there, look up articles, and comment with his opinion.
And I couldn’t stop giggling with how he signed his posts, “Bill from Cherry Hill.” Teehee!
-Katie*