digital culture The


age of isolation


The effect, positive and negative, that technology has on how more or less lonely we feel can be incredibly profound. Sometimes, our interconnected world can magnify that ‘alone in a crowd’ feeling to crushing degrees. Other times, simply having the TV on can help someone forget their isolation.


Loneliness can become a more prevalent problem in older age, with Age UK reporting that 1.4 million elderly people suffer from it. Befriending services to combat this usually rely on either in-person visits or telephone services, both because of the obvious positive benefits of physically


to someone, and older people’s technological limitations. According to Norwegian ‘warm technology’ company No Isolation, 87% of


seeing and/or speaking


STREAMING You may have missed


people over 75 in the EU have never been online. But that doesn’t mean they have to be digitally out of reach.


Warm technology prioritises real human


over ‘cold’ technology, which aims to connect us but in reality makes the process harder by being difficult to use or bombarding us with things we don’t need. One of No Isolation’s products is Komp, a one-button computer made with older users in mind. More tech-savvy families can send photos, messages and call an elderly relative via an app, while the recipient doesn’t need to do anything except have the device switched on to respond. The price point is a little steep, mind you: £599 to buy or £39 per month to rent.


contact and accessibility


For the more old-fashioned, not to mention money-saving, British care home provider Lottie has begun a penpal service, combining the comparatively archaic art of letter writing with the Internet age. Search your area online for the nearest home, or get a randomly assigned one, and your letter will be forwarded to a resident in need.


HANNAH COLLINS


Coming up


THE STAIRCASE Dir. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade


(13 x 47-52 min episodes)


Though originally released 15 years ago, the TV dramatisation of The Staircase coming out this month (details further down) makes this docuse- ries relevant again – and well worth true crime fans’ time rediscovering. Updated and added to Netflix in 2018, French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s series documents the trial of Amer- ican author Michael Peterson, accused of killing his wife and making it look like she fell down the stairs. Peterson is a measured and engrossing subject, while his lawyer became infamous for the ‘owl defence.’ Family and courtroom politics collide in a winding, sensitively-crafted story.


On Netflix now. Also recommended


THE STAIRCASE Starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, based on the aforementioned docuseries. Thurs 5 May on Sky Max.


38


CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS Another Sally Rooney adaptation following smash hit Normal People.


Sun 15 May on BBC Three.


LIFE & BETH


Comedy from Oscars- to-end-all-Oscars co- host Amy Schumer. Wed 18 May on Disney+.


THE ESSEX SERPENT Gothic Victorian drama with Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes.


Fri 13 May on Apple TV+.


THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, S2 Kaley Cuoco’s messy airline attendant returns for more morbid comedy. Thurs 26 May on Sky Max.


PISTOL


Six-parter on rabble- rousing Pistols


guitarist Steve Jones, based on his memoir. Tues 31 May on Disney+.


STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI Dir. Deborah Chow


(6 x roughly 60 min episodes)


Hello, there! Maligned in their time, the Star Wars prequel revival continues with the most anticipated TV spinoff yet – largely thanks to Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christiansen re- prising their roles as odd couple Jedi Master Obi- Wan Kenobi and his deceased Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader. After the enjoyable mess that was Bobba Fett, let’s hope for some- thing more cohesive, not to mention more meme- able Kenobisms. And if Mark Hamill can cameo in The Mandalorian, why can’t Liam Neeson Force ghost his way in here on the Disney dime?


Fri 27 May on Disney+


STRANGER THINGS, S4 Dir. The Duffer Brothers,


Shawn Levy, Nimród Antal (9 x 42-55 min episodes)


We’re going back to Hawkins, Indiana circa 1986-ish this spring for another dose of unravel- ling sci-fi mayhem, ice-cream, Winona Ryder do- ing the most, and probably loads more bike rid- ing. Season 3 of Stranger Things saw the gang splintering and a couple of heroic sacrifices being made… though a certain misanthropic sheriff’s doesn’t seem to have taken. Season 4, hailed as the beginning of the end, introduces ultimate Up- side Down Big Bad Vecna, and at this point, the Duffer Brothers should probably write Wizards Of The Coast a big fat cheque.


Fri 27 May on Netflix


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