Pepping up our golden years

Welcome Boomers, greetings in the digital literacy world. How are you planning to put some pep into your golden years? Experts might say many of us have started older, at some silly stage we may be going through. Well, great. The young ones in the family, or whom we educate, could all scroll before they could talk, and text before they could walk, quite literally.

E-networking is very ‘in’. Some Boomers are pushing up their glass ceiling, we started later, at an older age, aiming to engage in digital contacts, with online pursuits, interest groups or hobbies, or studies, or online employment.

For example, now I am heading soon for seventy, I still write edit, and tutor in a zoom world. Further to this, tomorrow I am planning a zoom coffee with a gal pal across the planet in the UK. Anyone can participate in this marvellous invention, sharing updates. We can email and text, sharing our sisterly journey, now we can meet again online, factoring in the difference in time zones. We can send invite for digital smiles. That is one of the best features of our newly found digital literacy, in this modern 21st Century. Being online can have positive impacts.

But I know some friends who reject Facebook, emails, debit cards, self-serve anything, and the cashless world. They do cling to the past, spurning change. They do believe a world ahead of no human touch is not progress. They wish for banking with genuine tellers, a checkout chick to share greetings, a store where there is good old-fashioned service, to assist their customers. Ah, maybe that is all nostalgia for our good old days.

But, in contrast, the digital world can flop in rather spectacular fashion, especially on public holidays. The local supermarkets have been known to post signs, “Cash only!” This did take place only last year in our big city here, down south. Some residents found not even a debit card or ATM was functioning. Things were crook, not far away.

That is really a growth industry ahead for our digitally interactive young ones. If they develop skills in IT studies, they can become problem-solving geeks. They will be able to name their own fees, particularly for providing emergency solutions to restore the digital world. That is definitely a specialist job, for which our digital society is preparing the younger taskforce. At neighbouring TAFES, young Einsteins can study to be cyber security experts. They develop novel approaches in counter-hacking, and counter-counter hacking. They know what they are talking about.

Their world is advancing too, into a global network or the young. Maybe they shall achieve the ultimate peace in their time, united in a worldwide web, building bridges through their internet. They might ignore the old fuddy duddies, and make armed conflicts totally irrelevant to the young. There are definitely other ways of pepping up the golden age. Health is wealth for each of the Boomers, so we can aim for physical pep. Boomers can exercise with a buddy, or group, joining in U3A or Probus communities. Golf or walking clubs, anything is fun for shared enjoyment.

The grey brigade can push their favourite button, or simply kickback with enjoying whatever their like. Gardeners can grow vegetables and fruit like our parents did. Some friends harvest their own foods, enjoying fresh air and pottering around. I have known some who practically wage armed conflict, pouring doom on all snails and slugs. It can be a hidden jungle in the backyard when we plant seedlings in the pumpkin patch. It all adds to pepping up such hobbies. Then there are the weeds! None of us plant those seeds, for the great survivors, weeds. (Not the wacky tobaccy type, or are they?)Yes, some still harvest their own.

But most of us can say we have tried to improve our lifestyles along the way. Some do not drink so much, or we gave up smoking years ago. We took up exercise in a moderate formats. I know some who are still at such an optimistic stage, pepping up some Peter Pan.

Well, good for them. Well done, and ole! Pep up our golden years, okay!