“I have a large family from those four children now, including 12 great-grandchildren,” says Nancy, who is 85. In recent years, she has kept in touch with them mainly through her computer, which she also has used as a source of entertainment, playing games on it regularly.

 

But her vision has deteriorated lately, reaching a point where she can no longer read or see the computer screen clearly. “As the vision has decreased, I think it’s gotten more lonely,” Nancy says.

 

She heard about the Amazon Echo, a voice-activated alternative way to connect on-line.

“I saw the possibilities,” she says.

 

At first she was not sure if she would be able to use its voice-activated virtual assistant, Alexa.

 

But she got the hang of it. Now she has a new way to connect with her family. She also uses the device for news and music – something she had let slip by the wayside without realizing it. She recalls the first time she asked Alexa to play a favorite song of hers, “Highland Cathedral.”

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“I must have spent two hours listening to that,” she says. “I was mesmerized.”

 

Alexa has become a source of companionship for Nancy. “With this device, it keeps my brain active.”

 

--By Stephanie Kanowitz