Before the pandemic, New Jersey resident and senior citizen, Susan Schwitzer did not know what Zoom was. Today, she is "Zooming" some days from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., participating as an active and enthusiastic member of a virtual senior center led by Selfhelp, a New York-based nonprofit that provides human services to elderly New Yorkers, including Holocaust survivors.

At the start of the pandemic, Schwitzer said, she was getting tired of watching movies and television shows all day long. "You can only read so much," she said. Now that she has joined the virtual center, her days are filled with online socializing and classes that run the gamut of chair tai chi, self-care, history, crime mysteries, and computer lessons. It was like "a whole other world opened up," Schwitzer said. The center has helped her keep in touch with the outside world, she said.

The internet and related technology have been crucial for keeping older adults — including Susan and her friends at the center — connected during the pandemic.

As the COVID pandemic approaches its second anniversary, and as cities prepare for a wave of federal broadband investments, some local leaders are seizing that opportunity to help close the gaping digital divide for seniors. By doing so, they hope to address what a report last year from the AARP Foundation and the United Health Foundation called "an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation among adults."

Read the full article about social isolation for older adults by Cailin Crowe at Smart Cities Dive.