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[Note: apologies to my mom] Babies today are born with keyboards in their little hands and everyone knows that if we have a computer problem all we have to do is ask our 10-year-old to fix it. Yet, the one group who misses out on the advantages of owning a computer is our senior population.
People in their 60s today (and will retire at 65) have already worked with computers for a number of years and are all going into retirement with a high comfort level. They are typically retirees who will keep up with the technology as they age because they have been doing that already for years in the work place. Most of these people also have computers at home and have for many years. They will find aging so much easier having a comfortable relationship with a computer.
Those in their 70s (and retired at 65 around) are similar to the group above with very few exceptions. Some people in the work world for this group performed their jobs without specific daily use of a computer and may or may not have purchased a home computer. Of the people I know in that age group, and I sure know a lot, many decided not to have a computer once they retired. The closer they are to 80 in that group the more likely they hadn’t developed an interest and perhaps only their supervisor had a computer. This is not the case in large cities but in small cities, towns, and rural areas where many people worked around computers, not with them.
Seniors in their 80s who retired in 1995 at 65 are less likely to have a computer for home use, again, depending on how close they are to the end of their 80s. If someone is 80 today and retired at 65 in 1995 they will have had some experience, usually a terminal with large floppies. Though some had computers somewhere in the building running things, desktop computers were not assigned to everyone. Again it depends on what part of the 80s age range a person is currently in and how close to 90 they are. (Geography and urban vs. rural employment plays a part as well. When I moved from southern California to northern California in 1986 I felt like I had gone back in time about ten years. The skills I had developed with technology in southern California were not to be found anywhere in this area. In most of the offices clerical staff were starting to get computers but no managers or non-clerical.)
People in their 90s (retiring in 1985 at 65) may never have had a computer on the job, certainly not on their desks at work unless it was a large clunker terminal or some kind of keypunch machine on another floor in the building, and in fact even when I started my last job in 1986 our office only had one PC and we all had to use a sign up sheet to use it. It was kept in a corner by old file cabinets. We had computer terminals but not PCs. Of the older group that were near retirement when I started at age 42 almost none of them ever signed up for the PC nor did they believe they would benefit from doing so in anyway. No one had a PC on their desk.
In all the groups whether or not they have a computer at home is also based on their interest in embracing change as they age. Some people stop learning and changing very early in life. Even people in the work place in their later years before retirement often kick and scream when new technology comes their way. They just want to get to retirement without more changes. And to add more frustration to that group is the fact that technology changes more quickly than a stoplight. For those who don't like change, at any age, of any kind, it is a daunting undertaking to learn new methods and technology.
As we age many of us lose the use of our mobility due to infirmities, can’t visit family and friends as much, may not feel well enough to shop even if we can get there, may not have enough money for entertainment, and generally, many seniors experience a sad reduction in lifestyle choices. Those with computers and a comfortable knowledge in how they work, not so much.
Around the time my mom turned 80, having retired at 65, she also developed a serious health condition. The condition limits her ability to go out and about and do the things she likes to do. Sometimes when this happens people become shut-ins. Often other things of a psychological nature affect the senior who has lost mobility and contact with the world. I didn’t think that would happen to my mom but I decided she needed a computer and she needed the Internet. Mom worked with a computer during her last years of office work but it was a dedicated accounting computer, which processed accounting and payroll and was a receiver of input and then pushed out checks and statements. No Internet, no email, no calendaring, no word processing, nothing.
But since she had a comfort level with a keyboard after years of typing I felt she could at least get to email with a few steps. Many of her friends were learning about the computer as well, also being pushed by their well-intentioned children and grandchildren. Many of mom’s friends were quite a bit younger and were still working. She was slowly being edged out of daily life. The computer I set her up with a few years ago was one of my old ones. I had just purchased a new laptop. It was adequate for her needs so we decided that would work great.
As everyone knows who has tried to set someone up with a computer who doesn’t have one or never has worked on one the big challenge is convincing them where their workstation needs to be. Many people without computer knowledge think it’s like an iron and we can just put it in the closet and bring it out when we need it. And certainly we wouldn’t need it every day. I explained the computer was more like the telephone and that she would use it every day, many times a day perhaps, her link to the world.
So one weekend we found a tiny space in her guest bedroom and next I went to Home Depot and bought a desk. The desk was unassembled of course so that weekend was shot preparing the space, assembling the desk, and moving crap around in her spare bedroom. I actually hit my thumb with the hammer (what a cliché) and was not happy with the start of our project.
If the computer isn’t accessible to someone learning how to use it they won’t learn how to use it. It can’t be a daily cumbersome pain in the butt to use and get to and I wanted it “sit down” ready. Also, when learning something new it’s best to use the new skill often to have it stick.
The next weekend I brought the computer to her house (she lives an hour north of me in another town) and installed it and moved everything around on her desk and ran a few simple tests and played with it. I told her she didn’t need to stay with me for this portion of the project since never in her life would she ever be installing a computer.
After I finished we had a nice meal then began. We needed nourishment. I had it set up with power surgers and a printer and a modem and a nice lamp and Norton and so she had to turn on only the power surger and everything buzzed into operation except for the on button on the computer. I wanted to get her in the habit shutting it down before flipping the power surger off. She began a note pad of how to do things. After we turned it on and arrived at the desktop I explained some of the icons I had placed there and gave her just a general overview of what she could learn over time. I limited the information and hid things I didn’t want her to see. Kept it clean and simple. We both were more interested in getting her online and in particular setting her up with email. I had already set up her email prior to our first lesson because I didn’t see the need for her to do that.
I enlarged the print and icons to help her out a bit and frankly it didn’t hurt me either. My current computer now has enlarged everything. Yes, I wear glasses. It still helps to have my icons large. After our first peek at the desktop and a basic explanation of how computers work (very basic) I told her what to click on to get to her email. She had never used a mouse so it wasn’t as easy as one would think. She didn’t know what “click” meant.
Finally she manipulated the mouse to the icon and bingo, her email appeared. The email screen to a novice looks daunting and a bit busy. She didn’t understand a single thing about the concept except that she knew she could eventually write little letters to family and friends somehow by typing somewhere on the screen. But where? How?
We take things for granted in life. I remember teaching my kids how to drive. We went up to the empty high school each night and drove around the parking lot. I was never so terrified in my entire life. Though both kids had been in cars since birth neither of them could remember the function of the brakes.
So though mom was not having a difficult time with the keyboard, the mouse was frustrating and the screen was gibberish to her. I decided to not delve into all the features of email and streamlined her training to sending and receiving. I had a Blackberry at the time so I sat next to her and sent her a test email and we waited for it to appear. She stared intently at the screen but didn’t see it when it came. I explained where to look and how to distinguish a new email from an old one and kept sending her emails until she finally found the new ones.
Next I showed her how to reply and she found that quite easy since she found the word “reply.” Next I showed her how to compose a “new” email and that was a bit more problematic. She found the word “new” and then didn’t know how to put my name in the field but I had already set up her family and friends in her contacts so I showed her how to just type a few letters and the name would pop up. Teaching her when, where, and how to click was big. I told her later on in her training I would explain other concepts like the address book and how to delete and so forth but this lesson had been tremendous and she did not like the mouse so we stopped. (We purchased a new mouse.)
I went home and expected emails but instead I got phone calls because everything that could go wrong was going wrong. Mostly it was because she was very nervous and worried about doing something wrong and hurting the computer or having it explode in her office. I’ve known so many people over the years who were “afraid” of their computers.
Computer phobia was tremendous in the work place in the beginning. I remember some people crying because they couldn’t grasp a concept. Mom wasn’t at this stage but she was too frustrated to enjoy it. After several phone calls we finally started exchanging emails but only between the two of us. I asked the kids to send her test emails but that sent her into a tailspin.
The next week when I went up I taught her how to look up her contacts and delete emails or save them and various other very simple email tasks. Over the week that followed I sent her challenges to accomplish with what she learned the previous weekend. Soon the phone calls stopped and she was emailing not only me but also the kids. Not only was she replying but also she was originating. And forwarding.
The following week I decided to show her how the Internet worked. I had already bookmarked a few stores she liked and my website and the Netflix website and a few other sites I thought she would enjoy then I showed her how to find them via her bookmarks. I didn’t teach her how to bookmark a website because she wasn’t seeking out new websites at this point.
The concept and terminology of the Internet proved to be more daunting than emailing. And we all know that some websites are way too busy in appearance and some are confusing for the average user let along a beginner. Still, we looked at lots of fun things and though she enjoyed looking she knew she would never be able to figure out how to do any of it. But again, we took small steps. I’m not sure the overview was helpful because I think it may have added another degree of fear.
Of all the websites I thought she would enjoy the most was her Netflix website. She had been a Netflix customer for a long time but I managed it for her from my home. She would tell me what movies to add to her queue and I would. I sat her down and told her how Netflix manages movies and she knew she would like that. She clicked on her bookmark icon and found Netflix. I had it set for auto log in. (Over the course of training that disappeared for some reason and she had to do that herself via a phone call to me, but she did it!) She was very confused by the screen and the choices but I narrowed it down to how to find a movie she heard about and how to add it to her queue. I told her not to look at anything else until she was comfortable with finding movies and adding them. Today she goes to Netflix routinely and adds and re-orders her queue like pro.
Movies for seniors who are not able to get around well are fantastic. TV is so boring (and passive) unless you pay for a huge package of choices. She had stopped making trips to the video store a few years ago so having Netflix in her life has been fantastic. I may figure out a way for her to stream them to her giant beautiful TV but we have some technology to work out. I don't see her buying a Wii and though I have my home set up to stream from my computer to my TV her system is different. I’ll figure it out. I rarely watch TV anymore since streaming Netflix.
After email and Netflix got under her belt I decided I wanted her to read my blog each week and showed her how to do that. She could either click on the link I provide in my signature block in my emails or she could go directly to my blog which I bookmarked. She could also click on my website and click on the link I provide there. The website is for my book(s) and she likes to take a look at it from time to time.
So in a just a few short weeks, at the age of 80 never having used a PC, she emailed, looked at websites, and managed her computer with infrequent phone calls to me. Next she asked if she had the ability to prepare mailing labels for her Christmas list and indeed she did. Her computer came with all the things I had used so I showed her how to get into Word and though she had typed all her life she was immediately frozen with the choices available to her to simply prepare a list of labels.
We attacked the problem in the same way we worked the emailing and Internet issues---one step at a time.
I didn’t tell her how to get the label sheet on the screen. Instead I set it up and saved it to the desktop so that all she had to do was click on “Christmas labels.” However, she had to type them in herself. I explained how important it was to save changes and she never had a problem with that. I explained how to change information should someone move and she didn’t have a problem with that. I explained how to load the labels into her printer and she didn’t have a problem with that. Astounding!
I next set up a simple document for her correspondence (to friends and family who did not have computers and relied on U.S. Mail) and saved it to her desktop and I think I called it “stationery.” She didn’t have a problem with that.
Now she was really rocking. Next she needed to order some books, which I usually did for her from home or I’d go to a bookstore so our next lesson was Amazon. Prior to showing her how to use it I set up her user name and password and from that point forward Amazon has remembered her. She clicks on her bookmark and selects Amazon, searches for her book or item then checks out. I was happy she understood this procedure though Amazon is super easy to use. Some of the other online shopping we have done has not been as easy and she has been very confused. If she shopped online all the time she would figure it out but infrequent use of some tasks means we don’t remember as well.
Some grocery stores now deliver to our homes. All we do is go to their website and fill out our grocery list and a delivery time and seniors never have to worry about running out of groceries or asking someone to take them shopping. Unfortunately, my mom lives in a community where that service isn’t provided yet but I have contacted her favorite grocery store and they are working it. In fact I haven’t checked for a while I’d better do that when I finish this.
With the limited things I taught my mom she has many services and interests at her fingertips she had learned to live without. She can read the news on line, she can visit the Louvre, she can watch YouTube videos (yes she does), and she can keep in touch with all her family and friends. If she needs towels she can go to any store of her choosing and order them and I even encourage her to look for discounts and free shipping. She can do anything the rest of us do to maintain our lives and never leave her house. She likes to leave her house but it’s difficult for her. There’s no reason for her to do without and not be connected to an active life because it’s hard to get around.
And let’s not forget the value of learning new things as we age. It’s so important to keep our brains active as we age. I taught her how to play Sudoku a couple of years ago and for months we were both addicted and every time I went up there we played for hours. I made a grid for her with an icon on her desktop so she could print out sheets with larger boxes to write in than the books provide.
I finished my second novel and I’m giving it to her to proofread for me with a red pen. It’s very important to me to keep her mind occupied in non-passive activities. TV is a fairly nice companion for seniors but it doesn’t promote the brainpower that computers and puzzles and books do. We have to strain and struggle a bit to keep our brains moving properly. (Coming soon: Facebook)
She can also send emails to her political representatives. She can research ballot items. She can research ancestry. She can research maintenance issues for her home and make decisions about what service she might need. If she needs a new appliance she can shop around online. She can buy stamps. She can do everything a 20-year-old can do except go out dancing. And that’s too bad because she loves to dance. She is connected to the rest of us. And the more connected she can be the more a member of our society she can be. She can see how things change and not be afraid of changes. (If any of you need an office temp, she’s available.)
After a couple of years with that computer my daughter bought a new computer so we gave mom my daughter’s fancy old laptop. It still has a few good years left and is much newer than the one I started her on. It fits the desk area so much better and she finds it quite snappy to use. She noticed immediately that it’s speedy. I offered to set her up with a router but she doesn’t have a desire to take her computer anywhere in the house. She just wants to use it on the desk. I’m working on that. She might enjoy bringing it to the sofa and working on it while she sits under her comfy TV blanket. Small steps though. For now, she has power that many seniors don't have. She’s keeping up with the rest of us at 84 years old.
And all she has to do is sit down and click.
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
Each week in this spot I will report an instance of good customer service (if any) but without embellishment. Just a business that knows how to treat customers at least some of the time if not always.
This week I received excellent customer service from:
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage: Erik Oquist, Santa Rosa
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