Using digital storytelling to help seniors combat isolation

Victor Kuperman—who is a professor in the department of linguistics and languages and the director of the Reading Lab at McMaster—is the principal investigator for Future of Canada Project “Bringing hope and well-being to community-dwelling older Ontarians in the pandemic world through creative writing and digital literacy learning”.  

We asked him some questions about his project and the impact that digital tools and storytelling can have on seniors combating social isolation.  

 How did the pandemic influence this project? 

The pandemic made us realize how hard it can be when we are disconnected from our communities. This experience was particularly poignant for seniors, who often did not have access to the digital tools that many of us used to stay connected when we had to remain physically apart. Loneliness and social isolation among older adults are both social and medical issues, and in the wake of the pandemic as Canada’s population ages, it’s incredibly important that there are supports in place to keep seniors connected and healthy. 

This project seeks to enhance the social and cultural engagement of older adults and boost their digital literacy through creative writing online. This online approach was particularly fitting in a pandemic context and continues to be an excellent way for seniors to reduce isolation.  

In addition to the impact this project will have on seniors living in Ontario, the findings of the project will also be shared broadly so that they might lay the foundation for future research of this kind in Canada and across the world. 

 Tell me about how your project is building on the work of the Reading Lab? 

In 2021-2022, McMaster’s Reading Lab partnered with Cyber-Seniors and the Seniors’ Computer Lab Project to carry out workshops for older adults led by students from McMaster. These workshops not only engaged older adults in creative writing, but also provided the opportunity for them to learn digital literacy skills in a social community. The stories created by seniors also provided an opportunity to examine data from this under-studied population.  

Now with funding from the Future of Canada Project, we will develop more creative writing and digital literacy workshops as well as continue our research on how written texts can be used to diagnose isolation and loneliness.  

Can you tell me more about how written texts are used to diagnose isolation and loneliness?  

We are interested in how written language reflects emotions. Our published research shows the impact of the pandemic on the cognitive and emotional well-being of seniors. By analyzing their written stories, we were able to tell how much psychological resilience older adults showed in the face of the pandemic, how long the period of pessimism, fear and anxiety lasted, and when they bounced back to the pre-pandemic level of optimism.  

Some common themes that emerged from stories written by seniors included memories from their youth and an excitement for social activities slowly returning after the social isolation of the pandemic. Our findings can be used to predict high levels of isolation and loneliness in seniors based on their writings, which can help medical professionals and social workers recognize and improve these undesirable conditions. 

 How does lack of access to technology impact seniors’ ability to connect with others? 

People on the “wrong side” of the digital divide, who don’t have digital skills or access to a device and/or Internet connection, are especially vulnerable to social isolation.  

As part of this project, we will make sure seniors are able to connect to the digital world and share their story, so we provide them with the tools (such as tablets and internet access) and student mentors to help them navigate these tools.  

What is the advantage of taking an interdisciplinary approach to this work? 

My collaborators stem from Faculties of Social Sciences (James Gillett), Business (Brian Detlor), and Health Sciences (Brenda Vrkljan, Ranil Sonnadara). Jointly, we have a broad perspective on both the physical and mental well-being of seniors, on the role of community engagement and creative activities in healthy aging, and on the merits of digital literacy in the modern world. No single disciplinary focus would yield such a perspective.