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My mom - 83 - is losing her ability to use a computer and iPhone to access the web as well as texting.
For years, she used hotmail/outlook for email and Facebook to connect with friends. She used the web to access banking, credit card and medical records. She shopped online. Once she got an iPhone, the land line was disconnected and she used the iPhone for phone calls, photos and texting.
Last year, she lost her license (medical issue) and will never drive again. She kept in touch with friends and family through email, FB and texting. Now, she is losing some cognitive skills and because of tremors due to Parkinson's Disease, her mousing and fingertip skills (for iPhone) is decreasing quickly. Most of the time, she has locked herself out of accounts due to incorrect passwords - her memory or her typing or both - and is terrified everytime she gets spam in email. She is nearing time to give up on technology.
But texting is now needed more than ever, for confirmation codes to access accounts, for medical appointment confirmation; and the web for social and banking needs. At some point, she will go into assisted living and that will likely be the end of the web in her life.
No point in this, but posting that for my widowed mother, having email and FB and her online newspaper subscriptions was wonderful over the past many years. It has been an important tool and social connector for her.
A lot of elderly people are losing their independence prematurely over simply not being able to use a smartphone or deal with the umpteen million and one passwords and accounts they have. And all of the scam artists out there trying to trick them.
Basically, the law abiding elderly are being locked away to keep them safe from criminals out there who prey on them. Sickening.
My 76 year old husband is a retired software guy (think COBOL 1976) and volunteers as DBA for our church.
He explains a lot of techie stuff to much younger people.
If you're a member of the Silent Generation and have done all of that, you must be a very rare bird and I'm curious what your opinion is of those of your generation who have such fear of technology that they will not even consider sitting down to learn basic computer stuff or explore apps on smartphones, etc.
It has been frustrating for me to see how my dad's life (Greatest Generation) could have been so dramatically improved when he became housebound - I wanted to show him how to entertain himself and he wasn't doing anything anyway, but nope, not interested. My brother, a member of the Silent Generation, also had no clue how to download apps to his phone - got a laptop at my recommendation, then basically let it rot. My mother - would not have been capable of understanding basic premises (not lack of intelligence, just lack of curiosity). Three luddites right there whose lives could have been drastically improved, but none of them could expand their worlds to include technology.
Someone said upthread they thought it would be ridiculous for a senior to download Lyft and Uber and schedule rides - I would WHY they would think such an easy and practical use would be ridiculous. Dealing with my ex-husband right now who could use all of the benefits of technology but just can't seem to grasp basic concepts or pay attention long enough to understand or use anything that could drastically enhance his life (he loves to go to ER and Urgent Care frequently and calls an ambulance each time!)
I don't judge anyone's ability in the use or lack of knowledge of the current trend in technology. Today technology changes and evolves constantly and requires a higher level of interest than many would want to devote to something that is dead or outdated in a year.
I also noticed that the young generation may be very good with manipulating the new phone, but lack anything deeper than dexterity and downloading and use of certain apps.
I don't have to go far to find this out, my wife hates learning anything about computers and only uses them for taxes, paying online bills, checking her stock portfolio, and making changes. If the computer freezes up or she gets a blue screen she calls me to fix it.
On the other hand, she is a fantastic cook and seamstress, she is well organized and can complete our and friends' or families' business and income-tax on the PC. I have absolutely no interest in learning this.
I need to add she loves to play some of the online games and can also complete a 1000-piece puzzle in two days.
Can you teach her to click on the little microphone and use the voice activation instead of a mouse? Sounds like she has enjoyed using technology. And maybe organize all of her passwords in a notebook for her to easily access? The codes that are sent you still have to enter - not sure if there are workarounds with those.
Thanks for the suggestions. The notebook idea has been done. She either ignores it or mistypes multiple times until locked out. I have set up her web browser to keep passwords for accounts and somehow she defeats that, tries to log in and locks up her accounts. Some of this is cognitive decline, some of it stubbornness.
For voice activation on the iPhone, she lacks the manual dexterity now due to Parkinson's and her own technique. I bought her several rubber-tipped styluses to have around the house but she won't use them, even though they work for her. Been through it hundreds of times with her before the tremors got bad - the way she touches the screen hits with her nail and fingertip at the same time - but she refused to change how she did it. Now it is a habit and add the tremors and she is essentially unteachable at this point (cognitive decline, habit, refusal).
One thing I strongly advocate now is that all web site log in allow for the password submission field to have the option to show what is typed, so that the user may double-check what they entered before submitting. Default to hidden is fine, but to have the option to confirm what you typed is essential for anyone with hand tremors.
I don't judge anyone's ability in the use or lack of knowledge of the current trend in technology. Today technology changes and evolves constantly and requires a higher level of interest than many would want to devote to something that is dead or outdated in a year.
I also noticed that the young generation may be very good with manipulating the new phone, but lack anything deeper than dexterity and downloading and use of certain apps.
I don't have to go far to find this out, my wife hates learning anything about computers and only uses them for taxes, paying online bills, checking her stock portfolio, and making changes. If the computer freezes up or she gets a blue screen she calls me to fix it.
On the other hand, she is a fantastic cook and seamstress, she is well organized and can complete our and friends' or families' business and income-tax on the PC. I have absolutely no interest in learning this.
I need to add she loves to play some of the online games and can also complete a 1000-piece puzzle in two days.
It is like a car. People use it. You do not need to know how a car works to use it, but it helps (especially when things go wrong).
For most "technology" most of us are users. Cars, computers, ovens, ball point pens ....
Computers, cell phones, tablets, the web ... these are not mature technologies yet. Add to it that on the software side, much of the first updates are pushed out before actually ready and those initial users are the testers, finding bugs and flaws. And that these are still in an early incredible growth phase, ever evolving.
I know a bit about OSs, computers, the Internet, the web because that was all part of my college years. Then, you had to know how an OS worked to use a lot of software and do anything productive or fun. But my 18 year-old has no idea how a computer works on a basic level (I have asked) - they just use it and use it well. But my 18 year-old also has a faith in cloud storage I simply cannot have - spent too many years constantly hitting command+save with my left hand while writing reports and backing up to external drives.
Thanks for the suggestions. The notebook idea has been done. She either ignores it or mistypes multiple times until locked out. I have set up her web browser to keep passwords for accounts and somehow she defeats that, tries to log in and locks up her accounts. Some of this is cognitive decline, some of it stubbornness.
For voice activation on the iPhone, she lacks the manual dexterity now due to Parkinson's and her own technique. I bought her several rubber-tipped styluses to have around the house but she won't use them, even though they work for her. Been through it hundreds of times with her before the tremors got bad - the way she touches the screen hits with her nail and fingertip at the same time - but she refused to change how she did it. Now it is a habit and add the tremors and she is essentially unteachable at this point (cognitive decline, habit, refusal).
One thing I strongly advocate now is that all web site log in allow for the password submission field to have the option to show what is typed, so that the user may double-check what they entered before submitting. Default to hidden is fine, but to have the option to confirm what you typed is essential for anyone with hand tremors.
I understand what you are describing now - the combination of decline with stubbornness and now, illness must be frustrating for you who is trying to assist her. It sounds like you've gone out of your way to try to help her.
Your last paragraph suggestion is very good and should be the default on all programs.
A lot of elderly people are losing their independence prematurely over simply not being able to use a smartphone or deal with the umpteen million and one passwords and accounts they have. And all of the scam artists out there trying to trick them.
Basically, the law abiding elderly are being locked away to keep them safe from criminals out there who prey on them. Sickening.
Good points.
(I assembled a list of all the passwords that I use on a fairly regular basis....5 pages worth!!!)
The senior citizens center offers assistance; it seems one needs to learn Every day to keep current.
After a year+, my cell phone informed me I could only use it for emergency. Surprised, I panicked, to know I'd become dependent on it. Vintage female, small town, pay phones no longer exist. Ran to the phone store, informed the young men, I'm not on the "Network".
Network is the telephone company ! They told me I wasn't listed ? Did correct itself.
Funny story ? 2008, my husband and I traveled to another state. Stopped at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, asked the young waiter " Where's the telephone ?". He looked at us, almost like we from the movie Back to the Future !
The manager must of heard, offered us his cell phone; the manager, was a former firefighter, who was in 9/11, now living outside Atlanta.
I get tired of people saying a "fear of technology." It's not a fear when people see no use for it. I know many who are happy writing checks for their bills. I did talk one friend into online banking, and she was thrilled after she did.
I do not take my phone out of the car when I go somewhere so I won't attend anything without a paper ticket and I want a printed menu. I saw on the news that in Ohio starting October 1, they have to accept cash for tickets and concessions at high school events. What would I do with a phone at a game, dinner or concert? Take a selfie? I would never be so rude as to answer a phone when having dinner with someone.
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