{"id":6787,"date":"2021-12-08T07:37:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T12:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=6787"},"modified":"2021-12-11T07:43:30","modified_gmt":"2021-12-11T12:43:30","slug":"intimidated-by-smartphones-or-tablets-help-is-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2021\/12\/intimidated-by-smartphones-or-tablets-help-is-available\/","title":{"rendered":"Intimidated by Smartphones or Tablets? Help Is Available"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though the internet has come to the rescue for many older adults isolated by the pandemic, others own digital devices but don\u2019t fully understand how to use them\u2014or have no idea. Journalist Judith Graham, a columnist for <\/span><\/i>Kaiser Health News<\/span><\/i><\/a> (KHN), reports on the many ways elders can learn more about computers, smartphones and tablets. Her story was posted on the KHN website on June 24, 2021. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s still sitting in a box, unopened.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to set it up or how to get help,\u201d said Sanders, who lives in Philadelphia and has been extremely careful during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Sanders, millions of older adults are newly motivated to get online and participate in digital offerings after being shut inside, hoping to avoid the virus, for more than a year. But many need assistance and aren\u2019t sure where to get it.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent survey from AARP<\/a>,<\/span> conducted in September and October, highlights the quandary. It found that older adults boosted technology purchases during the pandemic, but more than half (54 percent) said they needed a better grasp of the devices they\u2019d acquired. Nearly four in 10 people (37 percent) admitted they weren\u2019t confident about using these technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanders, a retired, hospital operating room attendant, is among them. \u201cComputers put the fear in me,\u201d she told me, \u201cbut this pandemic, it\u2019s made me realize I have to make a change and get over that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With a daughter\u2019s help, Sanders plans to turn on her new computer and figure out how to use it by consulting materials from Generations on Line<\/a>. Founded in 1999, the Philadelphia organization specializes in teaching older adults about digital devices and navigating the internet. Sanders recently discovered it through a local publication for seniors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the pandemic, Generations on Line provided free, in-person training sessions at senior centers, public housing complexes, libraries and retirement centers. When those programs shut down, it created an <\/span>online curriculum<\/span><\/a> for smartphones and tablets, and new tutorials on Zoom and telehealth, as well as a family coaching kit, to help older adults with technology. All are free and available to people across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Demand for Generations on Line\u2019s services rose tenfold during the pandemic as many older adults became dangerously isolated and cut off from needed services.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those who had digital devices and knew how to use them could do all kinds of activities online: connect with family and friends, shop for groceries, order prescriptions, take classes, participate in telehealth sessions and make appointments to get COVID vaccines. Those without were often at a loss\u2014with potentially serious consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a national hotline for those who need technical support. <\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI have never described my work as a matter of life or death before,\u201d said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, an advocacy group for expanding broadband access. \u201cBut that\u2019s what happened during the pandemic, especially when it came to vaccines.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Other organizations specializing in digital literacy for older adults are similarly seeing a surge of interest. <\/span>Cyber-Seniors,<\/span><\/a> which pairs older adults with high school or college students who serve as technology mentors, has trained more than 10,000 seniors since April 2020\u2014three times the average of the past several years. (Services are free and grants and partnerships with government agencies and nonprofit organizations supply funding, as is true for several of the organizations discussed here.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Older adults using digital devices for the first time can call 1-844-217-3057 and be coached over the phone until they\u2019re comfortable pursuing online training. \u201cA lot of organizations are giving out tablets to seniors, which is fantastic, but they don\u2019t even know the basics, and that\u2019s where we come in,\u201d said Brenda Rusnak, Cyber-Seniors\u2019 managing director. One-on-one coaching is also available.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lyla Panichas, 78, who lives in Pawtucket, RI, got an iPad three months ago from Rhode Island\u2019s <\/span>digiAGE<\/a> program<\/span>, one of many local technology programs for older adults that started during the pandemic. She is getting help from the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Cyber-Seniors program, which plans to offer digital training to 200 digiAGE participants in communities hardest hit by COVID-19 by the end of this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time my tutor called me, I mean, the kids rattle things off so fast. I said, \u2018Wait a minute. You have a little old lady here. Let me keep up with you,\u2019\u201d Panichas said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t keep up and I ended up crying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Panichas persisted, however, and when her tutor called again the next week she began \u201cbeing able to grasp things.\u201d Now, she plays games online, streams movies and has Zoom get-togethers with her son in Arizona and her sister in Virginia. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of lifted my fears of being isolated,\u201d she told me.<\/span><\/p>\n

OATS (Older Adults Technology Services) is set to expand the reach of its digital literacy programs significantly after a recent affiliation with AARP. It runs a national hotline for people seeking technical support, 1-920-666-1959, and operates Senior Planet technology training centers in six cities (New York; Denver; Rockville, MD; Plattsburgh, NY; San Antonio, TX; and Palo Alto, CA). All in-person classes converted to digital programming once the pandemic closed down much of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Germaine St. John, 86, a former mayor of Laramie, WY, found an online community of seniors and made dear friends after signing up with Senior Planet Colorado during the pandemic. \u201cI have a great support system here in Laramie, but I was very cautious about going out because I was in the over-80 group,\u201d she told me. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I would have done without these activities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Older adults anywhere in the country can take Senior Planet virtual classes for free. (A <\/span>weekly schedule<\/span><\/a> is available.) Through its AARP partnership, OATS is offering another set of popular classes at AARP\u2019s Virtual Community Center. Tens of thousands of older adults now participate.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those with low incomes, a federal program is temporarily offering discounts on devices and internet service. <\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Aging Connected<\/a>,<\/span> another new OATS initiative, is focusing on bringing one million older adults online by the end of 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

An immediate priority is to educate older adults about the government\u2019s new $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit for low-income individuals, which was funded by a coronavirus relief package and became available last month. That short-term program provides $50 monthly discounts on high-speed internet services and a one-time discount of up to $100 for the purchase of a computer or tablet. But the benefit isn\u2019t automatic. People must <\/span>apply to get funding<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are calling on anybody over the age of 50 to try the internet and learn what the value can be,\u201d said Thomas Kamber, OATS\u2019 executive director. Nearly twenty-two million seniors don\u2019t have access to high-speed internet services, largely because these services are unaffordable or unavailable, according to a <\/span>January report<\/span><\/a> cosponsored by OATS and the Humana Foundation, its Aging Connected partner.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other new ventures are also helping older adults with technology. <\/span>Candoo Tech<\/a>,<\/span> which launched in February 2019, works with seniors directly in 32 states as well as organizations such as libraries, senior centers and retirement centers.<\/span><\/p>\n

For various fees, Candoo Tech provides technology training by phone or virtually, as-needed support from \u201ctech concierges,\u201d advice about what technology to buy, and help preparing devices for out-of-the-box use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can give an older adult a device, access to the internet and amazing content, but if they don\u2019t have someone showing them what to do, it\u2019s going to sit there unused,\u201d said Liz Hamburg, Candoo\u2019s president and chief executive.<\/span><\/p>\n

GetSetUp\u2019s model<\/span><\/a> relies on older adults to teach skills to their peers in small, interactive classes. It started in February 2020 with a focus on tech training, realizing that \u201cfear of technology\u201d was preventing older adults from exploring \u201ca whole world of experiences online,\u201d said Neil Dsouza, founder and chief executive.<\/span><\/p>\n

For older adults who\u2019ve never used digital devices, retired teachers serve as tech counselors over the phone. \u201cSomeone can call in [1-888-559-1614] and we\u2019ll walk them through the whole process of downloading an app, usually Zoom, and taking our classes,\u201d Dsouza said. GetSetUp is offering about 80 hours of virtual technology instruction each week.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about tech training for older adults in your area, contact your local library, senior center, department on aging or Area Agency on Aging. Also, each state has a National Assistive Technology Act training center for older adults and people with disabilities. These centers let people borrow devices and offer advice about financial assistance. Some started collecting and distributing used smartphones, tablets and computers during the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

For information about a program in your area, go to <\/span>https:\/\/www.at3center.net\/<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Intimidated by Smartphones or Tablets? Help Is Available<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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