Having grandparents play a role in their grandchildren’s lives is a way for them to remain present in the lives of younger generations. Thanks to various technologies available today, grandparents and grandchildren can stay close to a grandchild. In fact, AARP has reported that 76% of grandparents living more than 50 miles away from their grandchildren use technology to stay connected. Here are some other ways Boomers interact with their grandkids!
Start a Private Meme Exchange
A great way to start an online conversation with your grandchild is to send a funny post or a meme instead of calling them. You can ask your grandchild why a post is funny, thereby opening up a new conversation. At the same time, by doing this via private chat, you avoid the awkwardness that might arise from commenting on their post. AARP mentions that you can send notes and videos of interest back and forth, giving grandparents and grandchildren another way to connect.
Ask Them To Teach You One Platform
If you ask your grandchild how a specific platform works, the roles will flip: They’ll become the teachers, and it could be fun. They can show you how to post an Instagram Story, how to save a TikTok, or why Snapchat seems so confusing at first. Pew Research found that 80% of adults aged 18 to 29 use Instagram, whereas only 19% of adults over 65 do. For grandparents and grandchildren, learning together can make social media more engaging.
Create a Grandparent-Grandchild Group Chat
Social media gives you the option of not having to post everything publicly. You can create a family chat group and connect there. Through this channel, you can share jokes, birthday memories, recipes, game scores, and casual photos. The AARP identifies family group chats as one technology grandparents can use to maintain long-distance relationships between grandparents and grandchildren. If you are one of those grandparents, you can create separate chats for each of your grandchildren, since they will have different interests.
Turn Old Family Photos Into Conversations Starters
As a grandparent, you have an advantage that young people don’t: You can show them their own family history through photos and share them in a private chat. This will spark questions about their relatives, the neighborhood where they lived, family traditions and so on. In this way, you will turn social media into a two-way exchange platform, rather than just a place to watch your grandchildren’s lives unfold. The AARP recommends sharing personal history because it can strengthen the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.
Send Each Other Songs and Built a Shared Playlist
Music is a great way to bridge the generation gap. A grandparent can send their grandchild a song from their high school days and they can compare it with a modern equivalent. The grandchildren might even realize that some of the songs on TikTok are so old that their own grandparents consider them favorites, and they wouldn’t have even suspected it. Pew Research Center reports that YouTube is used by a majority of adults in every age group and by about 9 in 10 teens. Music can therefore give grandparents and grandchildren another topic to discuss.
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Follow One of Their Real Interests, Not Just Their Account
One way to connect with your grandchild without simply following them on social media is seeing what they care about, learn from social media creators about topics that interest them. Whether it’s skateboarding, baking, animation, baseball, gaming or photography, you can follow some of the influencers your grandchildren enjoy and create interesting conversations by giving them something to talk about. The AARP recommends participating in your grandchildren’s interest as a way to create closer relationships.
Let Them Curate a Weekly “You Need to See This” Post
It doesn’t always have to be the grandparent who keeps the online conversation going; a grandchild could be the one to initiate these digital chats. Once a week, you could send an interesting image, such as a recipe, a sport update, a funny video, or something similar, to create a ritual for staying connected with your grandchild. That way, you’ll create a routine that they’ll miss someday, and they might send you a similar post. These small rituals can help grandparents and grandchildren stay connected.
Recreate an Old Photo Together
Among the conversations you might have with your grandson, one project you could undertake could start with an old photo from when the grandfather was young, around the same age the grandson is now. You could suggest recreating the image one day, matching the pose, clothing, facial expression, and even the location if possible. Then, you could post the old photo side-by-side with the new one on social media. This project will naturally spark conversation between grandparents and grandchildren.
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Trade Recipes Through Short Videos
As a grandfather, you could record a video of yourself cooking and showing a family recipe your grandchildren already know and have enjoyed many times. This might prompt them to respond with a trending recipe they’ve seen online, allowing you to bond over food. You might even be able to arrange a time to get together and try making the recipe in person. Cooking together can create meaningful experiences for grandparents and grandchildren.
Ask For Recommendations Instead of Giving Them
Another fun scenario, building the idea of grandchildren teaching their grandparents how a platform works, is the younger generation sharing recommendations for movies, restaurants, content creators, games or social media accounts they enjoy. You could try out a recommendation from your grandchild and then let them know what you thought of it. AARP indicates that’s a great way to stay connected with grandparents and grandchildren.
Use Social Media to Plan Something you Will Do Offline
In that back-and-forth conversation you have with your grandson, sharing restaurant videos, travel clips, museum posts, or recipes, you could plan an in-person get-together to bring those online shared experiences to life. The AARP emphasizes one-on-one time and shared experiences as important ways grandparents can strengthen relationships.
Know When Not To Comment
You don’t have to like every one of your grandson’s posts, comment constantly, or tag him in photos that might embarrass or upset him. You need to show respect and set boundaries so your grandchildren feel comfortable sharing posts and their thoughts with you voluntarily. AARP’s social media guidance notes that grandchildren, especially teens and young adults, often want boundaries between family members and their core online social circles. Respecting these boundaries can help grandparents and grandchildren maintain trust.
Conclusion
Social media is simply another way to connect with your grandchildren, and you shouldn’t view it as a means to monitor or imitate their online behavior. Digital communication is relevant and can offer a new avenue for maintaining a closer relationship with your grandchild; Fostering the back-and-forth exchange include everything from sharing music and memes to looking at old family photos. Ultimately, technology can give grandparents and grandchildren more opportunities to stay connected.
