Navigating the Digital World With My Mom
My mother's early and enthusiastic embrace of digital technology has taken her on a journey of empowerment and connection
My phone buzzed in the middle of a meeting. It wasn't unusual for my mom to call, but this time, the urgency in her voice caught me off guard. "Someone tried to scam me," she said, her tone a mix of pride and anxiety. "They pretended to be you, asking for money through a text message. But I knew it wasn't you. I figured it out, and I had to tell you right away." Relief washed over me, followed by pride. My 76-year-old mom had outsmarted a scammer.

My mom is a technological powerhouse, decades ahead of her peers in using the digital world to enhance her life. After attending her 50th elementary school reunion, she returned home frustrated. "No one there has an email address," she lamented, "and they wanted me to print and mail the photos I took!" It baffled her that her peers were so resistant to technology.
"They pretended to be you, asking for money through a text message. But I knew it wasn't you. I figured it out, and I had to tell you right away."
When I asked my mom what technology brought her, her answers were both profound and practical. She spoke of the joy of staying in touch with loved ones, whether it was me halfway across the world or her sisters back in Slovenia. She mentioned how technology helped her keep up with the world and life in other countries, organize her life, manage her finances and make daily walks more fun with exercise apps.
Artificial Intelligence? It's a Snap
My mom and I have been using digital tools together since I first left to study abroad. Back then, it was about staying connected through ICQ and Skype — tools that allowed us to talk without the prohibitive cost of international phone calls. But as time went on, teaching her tech became about much more than communication. I wanted her to have the world at her fingertips, ensuring possibilities that her world didn't shrink just because she was getting older.
Some of my favorite memories from this journey are the light-hearted moments that marked her growing comfort with technology. Early on, she would ask Google questions in full sentences, always saying "please" and "thank you," as if speaking to a person. Now, she navigates Google with ease and has become versatile with the artificial intelligence model GPT. She uses it to plan trips and adventures, dive into rabbit holes of random knowledge and even articulate her more intricate thoughts when texting with my wife, who doesn't speak Slovenian.
My mom calls me her "tech support," and often thanks me for introducing her to smartphones, YouTube, tablets, digital photo frames and smart devices. But it's not just her life she's transformed — she has become a tech ambassador within our family, teaching relatives about GIFs, emojis, video messages and the benefits of online banking and digital signatures for government services.
"You know our children don't have time to help us with everything so we can use our smart phones to help ourselves."
Today, my mom called me laughing that she was stopped in the street by a lost retired couple asking for directions, and she quickly looked them up for them on her phone. The restaurant they were trying to find was just around the corner. The couple was so thankful they invited her to join them for a coffee at the restaurant and asked her to show them how to use Google Maps on their own phones.
She told them: "You know our children don't have time to help us with everything so we can use our smart phones to help ourselves."
Learning to Speak English
My mom is not just using technology; she is enriching her life every day with new skills and perspectives, like she did for our destination wedding in Greece. At first, she was nervous about the wedding party's WhatsApp group, but soon she was swapping travel tips and sharing photos like a millennial. When it came time for her toast, she secretly used Google Translate to write and then practice pronouncing her speech in English that didn't leave a dry eye in the room.
"I thought that if Google Translate could understand me, then everyone else would too!" she said proudly afterwards. She didn't need my help to use technology to problem solve, and in that moment, I realized I wasn't her "tech support" anymore — I was her digital sidekick.
Watching my mom transform from someone who politely thanked Google for its answers to a savvy early adopter among her generation is rewarding to me. She's officially a micro celebrity among my in-laws and friends, who all want to hear about "the latest tech antics that Vida has been up to." One of my friends even offered to help her start an Instagram account so that she could share nuggets of wisdom on a new platform.
However, this digital prowess exists alongside the challenges she faces as an older woman in Slovenia. "It can feel like older people are written off for the junk yard" she says in frustration. She often says she feels "invisible" when she leaves her apartment—overlooked by shop attendants, ignored by younger people, and dismissed in situations where her opinions should matter.
Technology has been our bridge, not just between countries but between generations and life stages.
I've seen this too, in situations like when she was seeking information about her utility bill and the person across the table kept addressing me with their answers even though my mother was their customer, sitting next to me and asking the questions.
Tech to Connect Generations
Parents want to give their children the world. As we grow older, we want to give it back to them. For me, that has meant ensuring that my mom remains connected, despite the forces that threaten to isolate her. Technology has been our bridge, not just between countries but between generations and life stages. It's a tool of empowerment, a way to maintain agency in a society that often seeks to diminish us as we age.
So, when she was hanging up the phone after telling me about the scammer, she chuckled, "You know, I'm just getting started." And she meant it. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if she starts teaching tech workshops for older adults at our hometown's community center or creates her own YouTube channel. The sky's the limit—and I'll be her first subscriber, cheering her on.
