Dr. Barr and collaborators publish work on grandparents and video chat with AARP

June 3, 2021 – Professor Rachel Barr worked in collaboration with researchers at University of South Dakota, Vanderbilt, U Penn Brandywine, Lafayette, the Lego Foundation and worked on a report with the AARP that has recently been published.

Boomers and Zoomers: Grandparents Using Video Chat to Connect with Young Grandchildren (new window) is now available from AARP Research.

Brief Description:

Video chat helped grandparents overcome social isolation during the pandemic and maintain a vital connection with their young grandchildren.

Key Findings:

Grandparents quickly adapted to the unique challenge of the pandemic and reported increased use of video chat for multiple activities.

• 71% of grandparents reported an increase in their use of video chat.
• 29% report that the main reason for video chat use was to connect with family.
• Grandparents engage with children on video chat by sharing emotions and greetings (smiling – 79% and waving – 67%), sharing content/information (e.g., sharing objects or images – 51%, and reading to them – 24%).