I like my 78-year-old mom and do no matter I can to assist. However when she has laptop bother, she spins right into a annoyed tech spiral, begins lashing out, and I would like nothing to do together with her. The unbiased girl who taught me to be resourceful by sending me to the dictionary now needs her outcomes the simple manner—for me to repair it in seconds—whereas I see a chance to show her find out how to assist herself. Consequently, we find yourself bickering.
We aren’t alone. In line with the Pew Research Center, there are at the moment 62 million adults over the age of 65 within the US. That quantity is anticipated to achieve 84 million—and leap from 18 p.c to 23 p.c of the inhabitants—by 2054. That’s a number of seniors, and a heck of a number of tech assist.
“Typically studying from non-family members works greatest, as a result of we are typically extra affected person with different folks,” says Skye N. Leedahl, a professor of human improvement and household science on the College of Rhode Island. Leedahl performs analysis because the college’s principal investigator that focuses on high quality of life and well being points for older adults. The college has a tech assist program of its personal, a collaboration with a North American tech-support nonprofit referred to as Cyber-Seniors.
And that’s not the one such group. Tom Kamber, the manager director of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) and the Senior Planet instructional program at AARP says in an electronic mail: “Older individuals are more and more utilizing tech for studying about wholesome residing and medical points, about funds {and professional} expertise—some are nonetheless working—and easily to remain sharp mentally.”
Kamber and a corps of volunteers launched OATS in 2004 to advertise digital literacy amongst our older friends. They obtain it via their Senior Planet program (extra beneath) in addition to their advocacy and scholarship. OATS.org gives a glimpse into the group’s 20-year historical past, its outreach and connectivity applications, and its on-line group portal/social community. The web site additionally has an interactive finder that lets you enter your zip code to discover a Senior Planet associate web site close to you.
And people are simply the trade OGs. The excellent news is there’s a wealth of choices—a few of them are even free. The tech assist websites listed beneath cater particularly to seniors.
Having different tech choices is certainly going to assist Mother and I. Having a impartial third social gathering iron out her technical points means I received’t must resent the stress of being the resident “tech guru,” and he or she received’t must resent my makes an attempt to coach her. It ought to free me as much as concentrate on appreciating the time we have now collectively. Right here’s hoping it does the identical for you and the seniors in your life.
Senior Planet From AARP
Created in 2015, the novice-friendly Senior Planet website boasts a cohesive compendium of free on-line content material: articles, programs, lectures, demo movies, and workshops geared toward our elders (in English, Spanish, and Cantonese). The choices vary from studying find out how to use a smartphone to digital train courses to in-person meetups. The premier senior vacation spot served upwards of half 1,000,000 folks final 12 months and exhibits no indicators of slowing down; they even have their very own podcast. The group began with one in-person location in New York Metropolis and now boasts satellite tv for pc areas in North Nation, New York; Montgomery County, Maryland; Denver; San Antonio; and Miami. Digital one-on-one coaching—by way of Zoom—can also be out there.
Service hours are 9 am to eight pm ET, Mondays via Fridays; 9 am to 2 pm ET on Saturdays. E-mail info@seniorplanet.org or name (888) 713-3495.
Cyber-Seniors
Cyber-Seniors was impressed by a 2014 documentary that adopted a group of Canadian seniors studying to make use of the web for the primary time. The North American org (it operates in Canada and the US) gives coaching and free one-on-one tech assist by pairing seniors with pupil volunteers for an intergenerational expertise that each events study from. There are volunteers who communicate English, Spanish, and French. The positioning encompasses a e-newsletter, weekly occasions calendar, webinar, toll-free tech assist, coaching for volunteers and seniors, merchandise, clips from the film, and a bit devoted to cybersecurity safety. The group has North American companions throughout two-thirds of the continent which have Cyber-Seniors applications (the College of Rhode Island is one in every of them).
Service hours are 8 am to 4 pm ET. E-mail scheduling@cyberseniors.org or name (844) 217-3057.
Quincy
Quincy was based by Ryan Greene whereas he was a pupil at Columbia Enterprise Faculty in 2020 to assist his grandfather and the opposite mature adults in his life having tech bother. Distant tech assist classes are performed by way of secured connections and recorded, do you have to need to revisit them sooner or later. Quincy additionally gives fraud safety: A tech assist crew evaluations your emails, texts, voicemails, and social media for con video games. There’s even a weblog with posts geared toward non-techies. Plans begin at $5/month, and the corporate additionally gives 14 minutes per 30 days of free assist to Medicare recipients
Service hours are 8 am to eight pm ET. Message Quincy’s workers by way of the chat assist function on the web site or name (208) 557-8466.
Candoo
CEO and creator Liz Hamburg created Candoo in 2019 after having “skilled firsthand the frustration that my mother and father have felt coping with expertise.” Plans for one-to-one tech concierge assist encompass a single one-hour session ($75) or an annual membership ($228/12 months for singles, $340/12 months for {couples}). Help and coaching are additionally out there in English and Spanish on the enterprise membership degree for senior facilities, nursing houses, and different care amenities. Memberships additionally embody a free how-to library, videoconferencing instruments, on-line buying guides, and a downloadable pill comparability sheet.
Service hours are 9 am to eight pm ET. E-mail support@candootech.com or name (646) 758-6606.
The Smarter Service
Began by enterprise companions Terry Dry and Greg Boles as “a personalised tech concierge service for older adults,” the Smarter Service gives its prospects customized one-on-one technical help based mostly on the complexity of their digital wants. Prospects are assigned the identical concierge each time they use the service. In-person coaching is accessible within the higher Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California; Scenic and Scottsdale, Arizona; and Columbus and Indianapolis, Indiana. Help can also be out there for senior facilities, nursing houses, and different retirement communities. Smarter Service gives free consultations that will help you decide a plan. Annual memberships begin at $125 per 30 days, however different tailor-made packages can be found.
Service hours are 9 am to five pm PT, Mondays via Saturdays. E-mail info@thesmarterservice.com or name (805) 765-8348.
