Learning From Each Other During and After COVID-19

Source: Victoria Li/#ask3gens, used with permission

The pandemic is taking a toll on our mental and emotional well-being, but it has also shown us the many ways we can use online technologies to stay connected. We are seeing an exponential increase in kindness, altruism, and heroism—in the real world and online. In the coming days and weeks, I’ll be sharing news about some of the most inspiring.¹ Today, I’m highlighting Ask3Gens.com, a new initiative focused on knowledge sharing between the seven generations alive today. This initiative was sparked by members of the HATCH community, a non-profit global network of individuals from diverse backgrounds who cross-pollinate to accelerate solutions for positive impact.

The proverb, “When an elder dies, a library burns,” speaks to the spark behind Ask3Gens.com. Realizing that the oldest three generations (The Greatest, Silent, and Baby Boomers) are most at risk from COVID-19, both in terms of the impact of the social isolation and mortality, Ask3Gens.com set up a way to support the exchange of knowledge between them and the youngest four generations (Gen X, Millennial, Z, Alpha). They did this by creating the hashtag, #ask3gens. The hashtag can be used to ask our own parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents questions, but the true genius of the initiative is that it can be used to ask questions of anyone willing to participate. The campaign is both personal and universal—if you have a grandfather who makes the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich you ever tasted, now’s a good time to ask him to share his secret. If you have always wanted to know what it was like to live through World War ll air raids, the Vietnam protests, or the AIDS epidemic, nows the time to reach out on social media and pose the question to the collective community.

Asking questions is a wonderful way to honor our elders while enriching ourselves and our communities. The three oldest generations are the hardest hit by COVID-19 in terms of mortality, by joining this campaign we can help move the focus from death to living—celebrating lives well-lived and lives that continue to be worthwhile and inspirational. If you are home and have a question, or if you are looking for a way to teach your children about the positive use of social media, pull up one of your own accounts and show them how it’s done. The website provides all the details, but in short:

Use the hashtag #ask3gens on social media to signify that you:

• have an ask
• are available to answer
• know someone who is willing to answer
• have a project in this area

If you are able to help the older three generations learn about social media and/or set up accounts so they can participate, this campaign provides an opportunity for such altruistic action. Ask by ask, hashtag by hashtag, we can be lights to others and support them through these dark times. When we help others, we simultaneously help ourselves. Our bodies respond to goodness, like plants respond to sunlight and water—by asking questions using #ask3gens—we can fight loneliness, support relationships, enrich our lives, and water the garden of humanity’s collective wellbeing, together.

1 Readers who want to share positive initiatives (those that are using online technologies and/or social media to support us through and/or beyond the pandemic), please add a comment in the comment box below or DM me through Twitter @DanaKlisanin.