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Culture on Demand: Who's Got Seniority? Everyone Online Does
The silver set is starting to get with this whole Internet revolution thing
By STAN STALNAKER
October 9, 1999
Web posted at 5 a.m. Hong Kong time, 5 p.m. EDT
Believe it or not, grandmas are cool. Sort of. Of course your grandma is cool, provided she's still with us, but generally, as a group, the digerati tend to forget about those silver-haired doyennes (and doyens) who once saw things like WWII, the first Nissan Z car and clean air in Manila. They're not exactly center stage on the Net, as we tend to be a bit caught up in the whole virtual, slick'n'slim, Gong Li/Andy Lau/Snoopy culture machine.
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This is partially because old people and technology in the same sentence reminds us of Anwar Ibrahim and Dr. Mahathir hanging out together on a sunny day at the park. As in: not happenin'.
But the thing is, our elders are starting to get with this whole Internet revolution thing. Your average university/think tank/start-up tech pundit has been talking about how the Internet is the great leveler. Well, it's also leveling the barriers in age gaps. On the Net nobody knows you're 100 and can't leave the house. On the Net nobody knows you have age spots. On the Net nobody knows you eat bananas for dinner.
In Asia (as it should be elsewhere), great respect is generally paid to the oldest members in a family and community. These interlinked family structures and communal networks create a strength that has fostered much of Asia's success. With increasing mobility balanced by expanding connections, it's possible that we'll be able to maintain those relationships with greater ease--not just talking with our sage experts, but living with them despite growing physical separation.
Which is lucky for us, because these people aren't home anyway. They're out spending our trust funds. With the kids grown up, the markets showing signs of life and the family trading company freshly downsized, more and more of the silver set are out there traveling, consuming and actually doing cool things while we're stuck at the office. Touring the Yangtze. Buying a digital camcorder for the website. Cruising to Langkawi on big ships with names like Leo and Virgo.
Star Cruises, a major cruise operator in Asia, is clearly poised to satisfy the leisure appetites of this "fixed-income" demographic. They keep launching these big ships--some of which carry 2,000 passengers, 1,000 crew and infinite amounts of nasi goreng. Way out in the wild blue the cell phone doesn't work, babysitting is not an option and one presumes they can compare notes on pension benefits and Viagra. The cruise companies, of course, claim their sea voyages are all about the younger generation now, but the point is, culturally, that there is less and less difference. Old people are part of the action everywhere--at magazine photo shoots and as Hang Seng day traders or venture capital angels. They're even finding the swish restaurants. Next they'll be wearing Helmut Lang.
The good news? All this activity is keeping old people young, and encouraging the cultural growth that comes from cross-generational fertilization. My grandma (age withheld, but up there) e-mails regular updates on family history to her "list." My grandpa just had quintuple-bypass heart surgery. And lived. I couldn't do that.
My ancient neighbor puts in a 16-hour day starting with tai chi at dawn. My other grandpa (age 72) lobbies local aviation authorities that his cataracts should not prevent him from flying an ultralight. An ultralight! Maybe he is senile.
I can't wait to be old.
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