Being social and challenging the mind are two ways we can keep our brains young and help ward off Alzheimer’s. The task has been incredibly easy for Shirley Curry, known online as the “Grandma Gamer.”
The 80-year-old loves video games and chatting about them online with other players. She recently uploaded her 300th video on YouTube! But the video site isn’t the only place online you can find the tech-savvy grandma. She’s active on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and even Snapchat. Care.com decided to chat with the famous gamer to see what led her down this fun and unique road.
Curry got into gaming “in the mid ’90’s. One of my sons gave me a computer and a game, and helped me with both,” she said. “I was instantly addicted.”
The Grandma Gamer told us she’s been playing since the middle of 1990 and absolutely loves it.
Asked why she said, “they are just fun, they keep my brain active. My hands get to hurting from hand quilting but using this keyboard gives ‘active’ exercise to my finger joints.”
Finally, proof that video games can keep us healthy. Skyrim has been Curry’s favorite for awhile.
“It’s like a movie, and it’s beautiful, and I can roam around in it freely and make my own story,” she said of the game.
While she loves Skyrim, the Grandma Gamer has started dabbling in other video games as well. “I am now loving ARK:Survival and Conan Exiles,” she said. “These two are just playthroughs.”
Playthrough video games have a more relaxed and casual focus and typically have live commentary. They are the most popular game you’ll see recorded on YouTube, where Curry is a rising star. Having only joined at the end of 2011, the Grandma Gamer has 237,917 subscribers and 6,283,604 views of her videos. She is so popular she had to get a P.O. Box for all of fan mail.
Curry is a widow but has a huge family. In addition to four sons, she has nine grandchildren and one great-grandson. “They are all proud of me,” she said. “My grandkids like their ‘fame’ from their friends.”
We asked the Grandma Gamer for her advice for people who have never played video games before.
“If they never have before and are older, they need someone with a lot of patience to sit there and show them, and teach them,” she said. “Have them take notes, and try themselves over and over. And then show them again, and probably again, without getting upset with them.”
Watch the Grandma Gamer in action below.
