AKRON, Ohio — Baby boomers grew up in a time of outlandish predictions. They were promised that during their lifetime that they would witness time travel, flying cars and telephones that showed who was on the other end.
The idea of time travel, albeit potentially dangerous, seemed pretty cool. It could be fun to go back and relive a first kiss or a child’s birth. Certainly, flying cars would help during rush-hour traffic. But computers and phones with live images? Surely that prediction was nothing more than bunk. Who would want a caller to catch her with disheveled hair and torn jammies? Fast-forward a few decades.
Barb and Bruce Vasbinder of Kent, Ohio, say their relationship with their grandchildren, who live on the West Coast, just wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for Skype. With the free software application, a webcam and a high-speed Internet connection, users can talk to and see each other live via the Internet.
“It allows us to be a part of their lives and share special moments with them even though many miles separate us,” said Barb, 60.
The Nielsen Wire, the website for the measurement and information company Nielsen, reports: “Conventional wisdom that boomers spend little, resist technology and are slow to adopt new products needs to be reassessed. Boomers are an affluent group who adopt technology with enthusiasm.” The Vasbinders’ son, Aaron, his wife, Meghan Burke Vasbinder, and their children, Caitlin, 4, and Lindsay, almost 2, Skype at least once every couple of weeks from Tracy, Calif. And they get far more out of it than they would a simple telephone call.
On one recent call, the couple gleefully watched as Caitlin showed them how she stretches before soccer games, and celebrated when seeing Lindsay learning to walk. They also play games with the kids.
“Caitlin will draw the cards, or roll the dice and move my player around the board,” Barb said.
The couple showed the girls what the first snowfall of the season looked like in Ohio. Her son has given them tours of his house.
“Recently, Caitlin showed us her newly painted bedroom,” Barb said. “And one night, as we were ready to sign off Skype, Lindsay blew us a kiss.”
Grandpa, 61, who works in the insurance business, and Grammie, who is a physical education teacher for Kent schools, even help babysit, Barb said. “Sometimes we read a few books so Meghan and Aaron can clean up in the kitchen and talk without interruption.” Using creative ways to keep relationships intact, like Skype or the iPhone’s FaceTime feature, is something boomers in job-strapped places like northeast Ohio may be experimenting with more as their kids and grandchildren are forced to leave the area to find employment.
“Aaron had a number of job offers before graduation from Virginia Tech in mining engineering, but none in Ohio,” Barb said. “So following graduation, he felt the California offer was his best opportunity.
“The time difference is an issue, but we make it work, even if it is a quick story before we go to bed.”
