Like most senior citizens, 75-year old Chanjae Lee was not accustomed to the internet highway much more with the concepts of Facebook or Google. He did not even have an email account and he does not see any reason why he should learn Instagram except perhaps if he can use it to connect to his grandchildren.
Lee was close to his grandchildren and he drove to and from school every day when they were still living in Brazil. However, his grandchildren had to move back to Korea while he relocated to New York where he had nothing much to do except watch lots of Korean shows on television which somehow passed away the time and his longing for his grandchildren.
His son Ji who has relocated to New York with him and who works as a Facebook designer got worried about his father and how he spent his time idle in front of the television set. He remembered how his father loved to draw years ago and he wanted to convince him to become more productive again. NPR said Ji's plan to get his father to draw and have his mother post the drawings on Instagram did not work out though because his father did to believe anybody would be interested in his drawings.
The attempt was a struggle considering that it had been 35 years since Lee last held a paintbrush, He also had a hard time coaching his mother through the phone about using filters and using angle shots. Just when they were about to give up, his son Astro was born.
"My father was retired and spending time with my nephews, like driving them to school, was a huge part of his day. After they left, he had nothing to do and that scared my mother and me," Ji said. "We were very worried that he would age quickly without having anything to do and would become depressed."
BBC said Ji's father hated to learn new things but he was finally able to convince him to start drawing again and post this through Instagram for his grandchildren. Instagram is an online platform for sharing photos and videos. WBEZ said Chanjae Lee's Instagram photos now has 110,000 followers. Today, he does not only use Instagram but also Google and Facebook, thanks to an iPad given by Ji as a gift.
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