How do you foster human contact (conversations, quality time) with your grandkids when technology dominates the way they communicate?
Have your grandkids teach you how to use technology in a way so you may communicate with them in their world. I access my granddaughters’ Facebook pages and send them private messages that way. I also send email to them but they are far more likely to respond to Facebook private messages, even more so than answering their phones. I also Skype with them several times a month since they live in Florida and I’m in California.
To follow or not to follow: should I friend my grandchild on social media?
Yes, friend your grandchild but be prepared for their posts to be offensive (to you) at times. I follow both of my granddaughters (ages 17 and 20) on Facebook. (I don’t use other social media. Too complicated!) I had to block my oldest granddaughter from having her posts appear on my Facebook page because her posts are far too raunchy for me, so her off-color posts with her friends don’t appear on my Facebook page. And when I go on her Facebook page, I never criticize her use of foul words because I’ve chosen to access her world, not the other way around. In private Facebook messages, though, she never uses that language, so at least I know she knows how to discern her audience!