The new york times crossword
Older Americans emerge as fastest-growing group of online shoppers by age
1 8 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23
25 26 27 29 30 31 33 35 36
37 41 45 46
48 49
ACROSS
Some internet humor
It shares a key with a “3” Apple product launched in 2015
Vital hosp. worker Beheader of Medusa, in Greek myth One engaged in a struggle Need for translation, in biology
Coined word in the title of 2008’s Best Picture Congresswoman Demings Many mainframes Brewery stock Western city where copperriveted jeans were invented Water nymph Big Ten football powerhouse, for short
Big name in apple juice Dangerous thing to catch Two swings and a slide, maybe
Do or ___ (punny hair salon name) The Depression, for one
Rally feature Team player who’s not really a team player
Wears
Burning sensation Came to African antelope 50 52 53 54
56 57 59
61 62 63 64
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13
14 21
24
Group with the 2000 hit “This I Promise You” Website with the headings “Craft Supplies” and “Jewelry & Accessories” Cable channel owned by Discovery Convenient place to work out
T.S.A. overseer “De-e-eluxe!” Elvis Presley sings it in “Blue Hawaii” Corpulence Tracking device Sells
Some printers
DOWN
Facial piercing Place for free spirits
Where the University of Wyoming is Contents of some towers, in brief
Some sign language users In fact
“Tough luck
… I don’t care what you think”
“Watch it!” Cant
Make out in England
___ army, villainous force in Disney’s “Mulan”
Pot supporters Actor Armand ___
“Beat it!” Attachment to Christ?
Place to build a castle 26 28
30
32 34
37 38 39 40 41
Fancy “I” Israeli leader with an eye patch
Actress Gibbs of “The Jeffersons” Cubs’ hangout Pastoral setting
When a poser might be presented? Place for a stud
Eager, informally Causes consternation Language of the Literature Nobelist Rabindranath Tagore 42 43 44 47 50 51 54 55 58
60
Test in chemistry? “Yeah,
I’m listening” Yellowstone attractions Bourbon relative Murphy’s co-star in 1982’s
“48 Hrs.” Robotic adversary in “Battlestar Galactica” Bad fall?
Not serious Cause of a trip Once-in-alifetime trip
NEW YORK — In November, Paula Mont did something new: The 86-year-old, who hasn’t left her New Jersey senior living community in nearly a year, went shopping — online.
Mont used an iPad, equipped with a stylus to help her shaky hands, to buy a toy grand piano for her great-granddaughter. She picked it out from over a dozen versions of the instrument on Amazon. “It is like a wow feeling. I found it!” Mont said.
The internet has become a crucial link to the outside world during the pandemic, one that millions of people still don’t have access to. Among older adults, the lack of internet has even impeded their ability to get vaccinated.
But the pandemic has also motivated many who have been isolated at home or unable to leave their senior communities to learn something they may have resisted until now: How to buy groceries and more online.
Americans 65 and older rang up an average of nearly $187 per month online last year, up 60% from a year earlier, according to market research firm NPD Group’s Checkout Tracking. They still spend less than the average $238 per month by the total population, but they are the fastest-growing group of online shoppers by age group.
The biggest online spenders were people ages 35 to 44 who spent an average of $306 per month online last year, up 40% from the previous year, according to NPD.
Shopping is one of a slew of activities that older Americans now have to do over the internet, like doctor’s appointments and socializing via digital video like FaceTime. Such behavior was forced by necessity — older people face the biggest risk of infection, so it’s more dangerous for them to go out.
The transition online hasn’t always been easy, and children and senior living staff often have to help.
Barbara Moran, director of social programs for Atria Senior Living where Mont lives, says one of the biggest challenges residents face with their devices is that they are used to pushing, not tapping, as if they’re using a touch-tone telephone. She has to repeat tips often.
“I would lie if I didn’t say I was frustrated sometimes,” said Moran, who sits with Mont — masked and gloved — in the facility’s dining room for weekly shopping sessions.
Diane Shein, 73, of Bonita Springs, Florida, turned to Instacart and Amazonowned Whole Foods for groceries because of the pandemic.
“I’m not sure how much it costs, but I don’t care,” Shein said. “It’s very easy and safe.”
Instacart President Nilam Ganenthiran predicted that online groceries will be a “new normal” for older people even when the pandemic ends.
Still, there are many barriers, from struggling to use new technology to high prices to access.
People 65 and older are less likely than younger people to have home internet or a smartphone. Nearly 22 million, or 42% of Americans 65 and older, lack broadband at home, according to a 2021 study from nonprofit Older Adults Technology Services. Low-income and Black and Latino older adults are more likely to be left out, the study says.
Dear Amy: When I started seeing my guy, we were so in tune and on the same page about everything!
About a month into dating, a switch was flipped. While I’m making some of the biggest steps forward in my life and seeing incredible professional opportunities, he is facing jail time.
I know that it’s incredibly stressful for him.
He gets upset when I ask what happened to the honeymoon phase of our relationship; he’s hardly available for me, as he needs to save to pay his bills for the two to three months he’ll be gone.
We love each other and want to be together. But he won’t show up for me emotionally, and it’s hard.
I’ve suggested a break until he’s back in the summer. Now he promises to be more emotionally available.
But what if this is just what he’s always like? Sometimes he’s cold, other times demanding. He says things and doesn’t follow through.
I don’t want to wait for no reason or just so he can use me (and my pocketbook). But I also don’t want to leave because I know that facing jail time is extremely scary. I know I’m empathetic in love, to a fault. What advice can you give me?
— Empathetic
Dear Empathetic: It strikes me as extremely unreasonable to look at a man facing jail time and ask, “What happened to our honeymoon phase?”
That honeymoon ship has sailed.
Read your question and ask yourself: “What would I tell my best friend if she brought this messy relationship dilemma to me?”
As it is now, you play the relationship martyr, and he emotionally manipulates you. You should assume that the way he is behaving now is the way he always behaves.
Do not do the relationship work for him, and do not make excuses for him. That’s not empathy; that’s enabling.
You don’t say what crime this man was convicted of, but the wisest and most empathetic course for you to take would be to maintain a nonromantic friendship, while understanding that you both have jobs to do. You need to fulfill your professional potential, and he needs to pay his debt to society and then — once he has done so — reintegrate into the world.
Whether you are standing by when he returns will be completely up to you.
Dear Amy: Is it normal for parents to ask their young children if they love them? My ex-partner sometimes asks our 2 ½-year-old if he loves him, and I find it strange, if not inappropriate.
Our son is a loving boy who spontaneously gives hugs, kisses and says, “I love you” to close relatives.
His dad only sees him a few hours each week
(by choice), so that could explain why he needs reinsurance. However, I wonder if it’s not too much to ask such a young child.
And of course, the answer is always yes, so I find it a bit disturbing that his father asks it.
Recently, my son asked him that same question; something he has never done with me or anybody else, so he was just imitating his dad, I think.
How can I tell my ex not to ask our toddler that question anymore?
— Uncomfortable
Dear Uncomfortable: Many parents and children relay similar prompts: “How much do you love me?”
“To the moon and back!” I agree that this probably started as a bid for reassurance from a distant dad, but — unless the relationship is otherwise imbalanced — I don’t believe it is harmful, at all.
Don’t police how this dad relates to his son, but do support both in growing a successful relationship.
It is challenging to support an ex in this way, but it is genuinely best for everyone in the long run — and parenting is all about the long run.
Dear Amy: Thank you for telling “Lost and Alone” that her husband, who has heart disease, impotence and decrease in libido and who has been withdrawing to the TV room, should see his doctor.
A frank discussion of medical conditions and sexuality is in order. The husband may also benefit from an evaluation for depression, another medical condition that may adversely affect sexual desire and functioning.
Thank you!