Self Reflection Paper On Volunteering

The objective of the volunteering work that was assigned was to students this semester, was for us to teach others--mostly the elderly-- how to become more familiarized with the use of different forms of technology. We were to show them how to empower themselves (and live more easily) through the use of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. We were to show them how to save important documents and go paper-free, show them how to use their cellular devices, and so much more. Delving into the process of volunteering, I expected to meet these older people at a loss as to how to the concept of how to use certain features of their devices, or how, say, the internet worked. I thought that perhaps I would even encounter a couple of rude, insufferable, older-but-not-elderly people, as well. I expected to learn a lesson in patience, …show more content…
I did not expect for the ability to understand how to handle hardware and navigate software to be yet one more indicator of those in either the higher or lower strata of our society. For the most part, this volunteering assignment made me sad. I noticed how there was a difference between those who took advantage of the volunteering sessions provided because they wanted to and had the time to do so, and those who took advantage of the volunteering sessions provided because they had to. There were people who needed some kind of technological competency because it was their only way to get a job and or understand the legal process of eviction (to avoid homelessness). It reminded me how much the internet could do so much for you, and that not having access to or understanding of how to exploit either have a detrimental impact to some because it already has so much power and is gaining even more as more things are outsourced in the traditional way in favor of online