Old dogs can learn new (technology) tricks

Recently I had to change my email address. I sent a group email to various relatives advising them of the change. I was mildly surprised to receive a prompt reply from a cousin in Australia, who I usually only hear from at Christmas. She told me she had altered her address book and went on to say that next time she saw her father she would put my changed email address into the new iPad. This information impressed me as her father, a dear uncle of mine, is 104 years old and trying to recover from a stroke.

My cousin went on to say that she had recently given uncle the iPad, loaded with family photos, and he was enjoying looking at them and he hoped soon to be able to send the occasional email to relatives. He was struggling as it was a couple years since he had last used a computer and he had forgotten much of the basics. However, a carer at the rest home helped him log on and reminded him of what he had to do. My cousin went on to say that ‘Dad has only the use of one arm since his stroke and the arthritis is bad in his other hand but he is determined to use the iPad and contact the family.’

My uncle has always been a something of a legend in our family, mainly due to his deep sea yachting exploits as a young man back in the 1930s, he is now an inspiration and true legend as a centenarian.

In common, I suspect, with many people I belong to clubs where there is a constant debate over the issue of members who are not on email. Those of us who use email as a normal part of our daily lives find it irritating to have to send out ‘snail mail’ newsletters and notices to those who for whatever reason do not have computers. A colleague and I process a large bi-monthly newsletter for a club we belong to. It takes us at least two and a half hours to print, collate, staple, fold, address and post these newsletters out. I then go home and it takes me less than 5 seconds to group email the same newsletter electronically to the other half of our membership.

Apart from the issue of time, there is quite an expense these days with postage. A nationwide society I belong to adds an extra $10 on to the subscriptions of members with whom they cannot communicate electronically. I suspect if a local club with many elderly members took the same approach there would be an outcry.

One has to accept that some people have valid reasons for not getting into computers but I suspect their numbers are really quite small. It is not as if emails are still something new and revolutionary, they have been around now for over twenty years. Indeed with various other popular messaging systems now available the standard email system is almost obsolete.

I believe many people who do not make any effort to embrace modern technology are basically lazy. If you can use a telephone and a TV remote then there is no reason why, with a little training, you cannot at least master emails. Why should clubs and businesses have to incur additional expense by being forced to use obsolete means of communication, just for people who can’t be bothered to make an effort to live in the late 20^th century, not to mention the 21^st?

I am quite impressed in my uncle’s case of knowing that there are carers in his rest home prepared to help him with his computer. Surely helping the elderly in a rest home to use a computer is as worthwhile as keeping them mentally and physically active by playing various games or encouraging old-fashioned craft work? Even rest homes can move with the times.

I think those older people who sometimes seem almost proud to be computer illiterate overlook the possible benefits of the power of instant communication. If I can share another true story…

I knew an elderly lady who died a few years ago in her mid-nineties. Mary (not her true name) was an intelligent, outgoing, active lady who in her mid-eighties came profoundly deaf. After a while, she became so frustrated that she started to withdraw from society. She told her children, all who lived at a distance, to give up phoning her as she could not hear anything. She stopped attending functions at her retirement village and started to become isolated. Fortunately, a son-in-law decided to take the situation in hand and one day turned up with a computer. Mary was open-minded to try it. She soon acquired sufficient skills to regularly email her family and remaining friends. Her lonely life became transformed as she ‘chatted’ on a daily basis with her children. Her grandchildren, most of whom lived overseas, once they heard that Granny had email – regularly sent her messages and photos about their activities. Mary remained in the communication loop with her family and friends right up to her death years later.

Perhaps actively encouraging older people to learn basic computer skills is something we all should think about. Organisations like Senior Net and, of course, Grownups NZ, with its easy to follow technology column, can always help older people to learn about and overcome technology problems. You are never too old to take your place in the modern high tech world.

By Terry Carson.

This is another of Terry’s posts on GrownUps. If you like Terry’s work, you can read more from him here.