Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Digital Bridge vs. Digital Divide

There are times I feel like I'm talking Czech to my Dad when we discuss his computer and what he wants to do. Generally there is a request/problem, such as: "It won't let me print" or "How do I ... ?"

This is when there is a real digital divide in my life. Seeing as I'm about 1300 or so miles away from Dad, I can't very well go in the next room and explain how to fix his problem. My latest, greatest hope for bridging our digital divide is my research into local (free) classes offered by his library in computer literacy.

Then there is my cousin C. C is the son of my cousin K, and is 13 years old. Tonight C and I were conversing via Facebook chat. This is way cool for a number of reasons. One is that I can catch up with him and his life, easily, via Facebook. We discussed life, work, baseball, school and family all in a few minutes. I feel like we actually connected via Facebook chat, maybe moreso than the times I try to converse with him when I drop by K's house.

A digital bridge, if you will.

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