Tech skills for older adults
Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 09:45AM
I did not touch a personal computer until 1982 when my middle school purchased an Apple II that was housed in the library. I was 30 years old at the time. I was a late adopter of smartphone technologies. I still hate texting and do little on social media. I did not grow up with technology. I am, admittedly, a geezer. The same can be said of many of the people I serve as a volunteer. Nearly all are my age and most are older. Few seem comfortable with many of the technologies younger people simply take for granted. And that have become nearly essential to everyday life. One of things about which I remain most proud as a technology director was identifying technology skills needed by teachers - a number of years before our national organizations like ISTE tackled the project. My CODE 77 rubrics and Advanced CODE 77 rubrics, tried and tested in the Mankato Schools, were widely used - if requests for use and sales of my book which was based on them were any indication. Perhaps it is past time to identify skills we chronologically gifted individuals need if we wish to remain safe and fully functional in today’s digital world. The few sets of skills I find when doing an Internet search on the topic seem more academic than practical. So while I may be reinventing the wheel, I’ll list the understandings and skills I find from my experience to be most useful and necessary. I welcome additions, challenges, or changes… Basic awareness. Understanding what resources are currently in use and useful to meet one’s personal needs. This includes hardware, software, and online resources. Trouble-shooting/support. Knowing how to fix common technology problems and where to go to find help for more complex issues. Knowing where to go for training specifically for older adults. Communications. Knowing how to communicate using email, texting, and social media platforms with family, friends, and businesses. Finance. Knowing how to safely use online resources to pay bills, receive payments, and monitor banking and investment accounts. Entertainment. Knowing how to find movies, music, and reading materials online and understanding the costs associated with these resources. Shopping. Knowing how to find, select, and place orders online for clothing, food, and other basic items. Navigation. Knowing how to use online maps to find walking, driving, mass transit, and bicycling routes to selected destinations and how to use a car’s navigation system if available. Information searching and evaluation. Knowing how to search specific websites for information, discriminate between advertisements and articles, and determine the reliability of the information found Safety. Knowing how to identify and avoid scammers and other dishonest online schemes. Learning the indicators of an illegitimate request for money. Smartphone use. Knowing the basic functions of a smartphone including the voice phone, texting, and photo taking. Each of these areas need to be more fully developed, of course. And very likely individualized. Some should probably be “recommended, but optional.” Readers, what in your experience are the most important tech skills for older adults? 
Reader Comments (7)
This reminded me of a cruise we went on recently. You were supposed to download the ship's app on your phone before the cruise started because you would need it to do several things on the ship. When we went to the dining room every evening for dinner, the dinner menu could only be accessed on your smart phone. You had to scan the QR code on the table in order to get to tonight's menu. This was also the process at breakfast and dinner but we didn't usually go there for those meals. Every evening we had dinner with another couple who were about our age but they had no technology skills at all. They had smart phones but only used them to make phone calls and send texts. I tried to help them with their phones each evening but this slowed down the ordering process so much that my husband and I would pull the menus up on our phones and once we decided what we would order, we would pass our phones to the other couple. Also on the app, you needed to make reservations for shows. Without this ability to use the technology on their phones, I think this hindered the other couple from fully enjoying the cruise because they missed out on a lot of stuff. There was a "help desk" but every day, the line was so long that the wait time was an hour or two and many people gave up. One morning (I get up at 4:30 every morning), I was on the deck having my morning tea when someone saw I was on my laptop. They asked me for help with their phone and I helped them. Next thing I know, there are 4 more people waiting to see if I could help them! I was glad to help but I wondered how many other people were missing the full cruise experience.
I have always believed that if you have a clipboard and a walkie talkie people will let you go anywhere. I wonder now if you are working with a laptop and a phone at the same time people will assume you can answer your technology question.
Hi Pat,
Great example of the need for tech skills for older adults. I am beginning to think if we all can use our smartphones well, we may not need many other skills! Thanks so much for your great story here.
Doug
Hi Kenn,
Good observation!
Doug
How to use Google Translate if you are traveling! And how to add contacts to WhatsApp. My parents were traveling and had a medical emergency and ended up in a French speaking country and my mother was completely clueless on how to get information.
Thanks, Danielle - another good example. I've used these translation tools myself with somewhat limited success. But they are handy!
Doug
Airline apps. This week, updates to tickets I purchased for family were easily available for them only on a particular airline’s app. Neither of us could get logged into the trip’s alerts for delays on laptops. Usually either is easy but yesterday it was only the app that announced a delay via text that would have left them not able to make a connection and offered free itinerary changes. We gained several hours of beach and pool fun. Otherwise it would have required packing up and going to the airport to fin out about the delay and having to make changes much later when possible alternative routes might not be available while we made sand castles.
Good point, Sara. I use my Delta app all the time when I travel.
Another "travel app" I forgot to mention was for currency conversion - handy in any country that does not use the dollar.
Doug