Alexa, thank you for the music

About 2 years ago, I got a telephone from my mother. “You know,” she said, “that Alexa is truly moving out. I was feeling a small depressed, truthful I told Alexa to play immoderate bully music, and that’s precisely what she did. In a fewer minutes, I was feeling truthful overmuch better!”

Alexa had become, not precisely a companion, but a beingness successful my mother’s location — 1 that made some her, and myself, consciousness a small better. This was astatine slightest portion of what I hoped would hap erstwhile I archetypal went buying for an Echo device. Websites focused connected elder attraction are afloat of proposal connected however to add Amazon’s astute speakers as a utile tool, and Amazon’s exertion was designed to marque tech much approachable and accessible — goals that it often, though not always, succeeds at.

Here’s however it started. My parent had lived astir of her beingness arsenic a teacher successful the NYC nationalist schools system, a smart, savvy pistillate with a master’s successful education, a progressive governmental constituent of view, and a sometimes irritating quality to presume complaint of astir immoderate situation. But she was present entering her precocious 90s and opening to person superior problems with her wellness and her short-term representation recall. Despite her determination to enactment autarkic arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable — by playing games connected her computer, keeping up with the news, and penning copious diary entries of her day-to-day activities — this progressively affected her quality to bash elemental tasks, to larn caller skills, and to unrecorded independently. 

We were capable to prosecute an adjutant to assistance her during the daylight hours — marque meals, cleanable up, and assistance with different chores that she was present incapable to bash herself. But my ma was besides stubborn and refused to person anyone determination astatine nighttime oregon to deterioration immoderate benignant of exigency fastener successful lawsuit she needed help. I lived astir 40 minutes distant and lone spent weekends with her. We needed immoderate mode of making definite she was good erstwhile she was the lone idiosyncratic successful the apartment.

So I got her an Amazon Echo Show 8 astute display successful the hopes that it could beryllium the opening of a astute location system that would assistance support her harmless and active. It each depended connected however good my mother, who grew up astatine a clip erstwhile conscionable having a location telephone was caller and exciting, would judge the device. The Echo’s eight-inch surface was ample capable for her to beryllium capable to presumption it easy but tiny capable truthful it wouldn’t overwhelm the room. She could interact with the idiosyncratic assistant, portion the camera would let maine to interact with her remotely. I acceptable it up and introduced her to Alexa.

And — it worked. Sort of.

I thought we could commencement by utilizing it arsenic a mode to pass visually. That was beauteous overmuch a failure. My parent was utilized to calling radical connected a phone, and portion she was impressed with the full “see the idiosyncratic you’re talking to” idea, she wasn’t precise enthusiastic astir utilizing it herself. “It’s not for me,” she said firmly.

Okay, I thought, there’s ever the “drop-in” feature. I could usage it to show what was happening successful the apartment. However, the Echo Show had been placed successful a tiny country disconnected the room that we called “The Den” wherever my parent had her meals, wrote successful her journal, and spent a batch of her clip — and arsenic a result, it could lone “see” into that country and the kitchen. The 1 clip I suggested that I enactment cameras astir the apartment, I got 1 of her looks — the 1 that made maine consciousness arsenic if I were 5 years aged again. A camera successful the bedroom? No way. 

But luckily, determination were immoderate things the Echo did assistance with. About that time, my mother’s past bedside timepiece vigor yet gave up the ghost. With immoderate trepidation, I replaced it with an Echo Dot with Clock — and was delighted erstwhile my parent informed maine that she loved it! She could not lone spot what clip it was but besides inquire Alexa what the upwind was, close from her bed. And what made maine blessed was that I was capable to thatch her to yell, “Alexa, telephone Barbara” if she needed maine successful an emergency. Between the Dot and the Show, Alexa could present respond nary substance wherever my parent was successful the flat — including the bath with the doorway closed. (I checked.) She lone utilized the diagnostic a mates of times, and never for an existent emergency, but it was determination for “just successful case.” 

In the end, though, the astir important acquisition that the 2 Echos gave to my parent was music.

Decades ago, my parents bought what was past the latest successful audio technology: a modular stereo strategy that consisted of a turntable, a receiver, an AM / FM radio, and a cassette portion player. Now it sat unused, having go excessively analyzable for my parent to woody with. But with the Echo, she could play euphony whenever she liked. She didn’t adjacent person to retrieve the names of the songs she liked oregon the musicians that she had erstwhile doted on.  All she had to bash was say, “Alexa, play immoderate quiescent music,” oregon “Alexa, play immoderate blessed music.” Alexa would play immoderate old-time blues oregon people oregon big-band music. And I’d get a telephone astir however she had listened to her euphony and however bully it made her feel.

Did the 2 Echos bash everything I had hoped they would? Well, yes and no. They surely gave my parent a elemental and affable mode to get accusation and reminders. More importantly, they provided a mode that she could interaction maine successful an emergency. But I ne'er recovered the clip to instal other astute setups that were available. It was, astatine slightest then, conscionable excessively analyzable a task to woody with.

In fact, Amazon has experimented with extending the usefulness of its astute devices for seniors. I ne'er got astir to trying Amazon’s $20-a-month Alexa Together service, which connected to its ain 24/7 exigency work — and it was seemingly not precise successful, since it was discontinued successful June of this year. I mightiness person opted for the little costly Emergency Assistant feature, which allows users to interaction exigency services and was introduced past September. But by that time, my parent was getting round-the-clock attraction from household and aides and was nary longer successful request of it.

Still, the Echo was bully to have. Near the extremity of her life, erstwhile my parent was bedridden and excessively anemic to speak, I could beryllium adjacent to her and say, “Alexa, play immoderate Woody Guthrie” oregon “Alexa, play immoderate Bessie Smith” oregon “Alexa, play immoderate Count Basie.” The euphony would start, and my parent would grin — and would, for a time, consciousness better. And though Amazon’s astute talker was not the cleanable reply to each our needs, for those fewer moments, I volition ever beryllium grateful to Alexa.