Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

Every time I get a new phone, computer, or cable TV system, there's a big learning curve.  I happen to be quite competent on the computer and IPhone/IPad, yet I still find myself having lots to learn, and often feeling inadequate when I don't "get it" right away.  You all know or have heard of a Grandma (maybe even yourself) who has been shown dozens of times how to use Facebook, and still can't remember how to log in.  The grandchild who is showing Grandma becomes frustrated, and Grandma gives up and says it's not that important.  That means Grandma also won't try an IPhone (she says "I'll just keep my flip phone, it's just fine," and probably won't learn how to text.  She may say, "It's too late in life for me to learn all this," when in fact she may live another 20 years!  Why is it so difficult to teach older adults how to use this new technology?  Researchers have studied the issue and have come up with some interesting answers, and solutions.  Read on.

The number of seniors using the internet has grown much more slowly year by year than the rate of internet use by adults in general.  In 2012, it was announced that 53% of American adults over age 65 are online and using e-mail.  When those that are not using the internet were asked why not, most said they either didn't need it or didn't see the benefits of it, or didn't know how to access it.  Research shows that users over 65 go online on a daily basis, and more than half use social media as well as e-mail and search engines.  This suggests that once you get seniors online, they will use it in many ways.  The problem is, getting those that are nervous Nellies or full of self doubt, to try it.

  Seniors learn best in a one-on-one , hands-on, situation.  The more nervous and intimidated a senior is about technology, the more important it is to transmit information in small bites.  Show them one thing at a time, and let them practice.  I know from my own experience.  When I first got my IPad, I signed up for lessons at the Apple Store.  The teacher was great, and he showed us how to do everything we wanted to learn.  He even had us practice.  But when I went home and tried to transfer a picture, or some other skill we had learned, I couldn't remember.  I felt like I needed my own private tutor.  So back I went to the Apple Store, this time concentrating on just two or three things that I wanted to know how to do.  I wrote everything down, practiced it at the store, then went home and practiced some more.  That's the only way to really learn it.

I still know people, some of them not so old, that refuse to even try the internet.  Do they have any idea what they're missing?  I have one new friend, about my age, who has an IPhone, but will not get a computer.  She has no access to important information, and she just doesn't see that  she needs it.  Most, however, if a loving daughter or granddaughter will take the time to get them started, will get on the internet and love it.  There's a whole world of information out there for us to absorb.  Today kids are exposed to the internet from the time they can reach the keyboard.  Just watch your 2 year old grandchild play a game, or scroll through pictures.  The day will come when everyone uses the internet, but for now, there are still some seniors that are missing out.  Too bad for them.