How can we rebuild relationships between different generations as a combat to isolation ?
In the history of modern humanity, around 30,000 years ago, the number of humans who lived to be grandparents increased substantially. One of the consequences of three generations being alive together was the preservation of information what could otherwise have been lost.
Research found out that the quality of relationships between the three generations has measurable consequences on the mental well being of both. As life expectancy is increasing, generations co-exist for unprecedentedly long periods of time, and they can be sources of support, or play a role of support across people's lives.
Social security, pension plans and retirement funds allow older people to live without the kind of dependence common in early live. Grandparents are free from the day-to-day parenting, so they are able to provide a special time of uninterrupted play.
We all have a stereotype image of a grandparent that will give unconditional love, support, spoil you with sweets and money, a figure of wisdom that is not Google, a person that will never make you feel old. Unfortunately not everyone has the experience of loving or supporting grandparents, also not every older person is surrounded by children or grandchildren.
With this in mind, we created a non-profit platform called Everybody needs a GrannyTM. With this platform we aimed to combat isolation, building bridges between different generations, where we want to bring old and young people together with social need, a lack of experience or support.
Baking a home made apple pie could bring a young person to the platform that will be connected to a granny that makes the best apple pies in the world. They will spend their time together and as a result, they will both collect benefits from this experience. The young person learns how to make the best apple pie in the world, the granny exchanges her experience and knowledge and both gain social time from it.
The possibility of reducing loneliness with a simple phone call is also a valid option in our project. The important thing is to create a complete service based on one-to-one interactions, group activities or even a wider community engagement.