Photo: Filepic/The Star
A viral Facebook post circulated in several WhatsApp groups of mine recently. The story and image was a heartbreaking one: an elderly grandma and her grandson standing outside a smartphone shop, both masked, eyeing the array of devices displayed before them curiously and cautiously, arms crossed behind their back as if afraid to touch the precious screens. The caption on the post explained that Grandma was looking to buy a smartphone for Grandson so he could participate in online lessons. But alas, Grandma and Grandson left the shop empty-handed.
As a privileged millennial who keeps tabs on the latest upgrade and new releases of gadgets, the jarring image of Grandma and Grandson standing helplessly outside the store replayed in my mind for a few days. For me, my smartphone is mainly used for communication and absent-minded scrolling through social media. For them, having a smartphone means access to education, information ... a better life. It was so close, yet out of reach.
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