The Reason This Grumpy Grandpa Learned to Use Instagram Will Make You Sob

Sometimes, begging a senior to learn about "newfangled" technology can feel like a chore . . . and that's exactly how New Yorker Ji Lee felt about teaching his father, an elderly Korean man living in Brazil, to use social media. But after the eldest Lee's grandchildren moved out of the country, he became depressed, feeling uninspired artistically and lonely. This predicament gave Ji an idea for helping his father connect with his globetrotting descendants.

In the video about his dad above, Ji explains that his father feared he would never know his grandkids the way he wished to. So when Ji suggested that his dad begin painting and drawing for the kids to see, the "grumpy old man" embraced technology and learned to use Instagram. Now he paints a new scene every day — often of his grandkids or events around his Brazilian home that he'd like to share with them — and uploads them to Instagram with captions translated into English and Portuguese by his NYC- and Korea-dwelling children.

Lee's Instagram account, Drawings For My Grandchildren, has more than 34,000 followers at the time of writing, and the sale of his prints go to fund airfares so that he can visit his grandkids. Who says that you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Check out some of the grandfather's incredible work ahead, and you'll be inspired to help the elderly folks in your life find their niche online.