Faster communications are not necessarily better, especially when a machine is doing the interpreting. It can cause real panic for recipients.

When retirees Paul and Pauline Bjorkholm decided to go on a monthlong trek through Nepal, their daughter and son-in-law were not thrilled at the idea. The thought of the couple in their late 60s hiking through the mountains in a foreign country halfway around the world worried the younger couple.

“We asked them to keep in touch at tea houses (internet cafés) along the way, thinking it was the best way to ensure they were safe,” said their daughter, Jill Easter.

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