You too can become tech-savvy

DEBBIE JACOB

WHEN I retired three years ago, I decided to shatter that stereotypic notion that the elderly can’t manage technology. I set a goal to become as tech-savvy as any young person. As a librarian, it was convenient to let both of my young assistants handle technological issues. My half-hearted attempts to deal with technology usually ended up in frustration and anger. I kept telling myself, “I can’t do this. It’s too hard.”

I put up mental blocks that prevented me from learning and mastering more technology. I made myself dependent on others. Retirement made me realise the importance of tackling my fear of technology. I had no one to rely on but myself – if I wanted to use technology to make my life easier.

Thinking back to my mom’s struggle with technology made me even more determined to learn. Well into her sixties, my mom worked as a successful real estate broker in Ohio. Every Monday, she felt excited to pick up the printed copy of the listing book to check for new houses on the market.

One day, she came home and announced the end of her beloved career because the real estate office had decided listings would only be accessed digitally. She refused to make the transition.

At some point I taught her to use Skype so we could communicate, but she became flustered and had my sister-in-law solve all of her problems when Skype went down. I wouldn’t repeat my mom’s mistakes.

Anyone around my age – 69 – will remember those early days of technology when we worked with floppy discs easily corrupted by a speck of dust. We were afraid to breathe on those discs when we had to walk with them to the boss’s office. But technology has come a long way. It’s more reliable and user-friendly.

If you’re not tech-savvy or if you’re an elderly person who wants to feel comfortable with technology, start by telling yourself it's not meant to be complicated or impossible. It’s there to enhance our lives – not to discourage us.

We all use some form of technology. I realised I had been good at keeping up with technology for my research as a librarian and writer, and if I could do that, I could master technology for other purposes. I took the plunge, starting with small accomplishments like exploring all those buttons on the TV remote and discovering that by pushing a button I could have programmes on demand. I didn’t ruin the television by experimenting.

Next, I discovered how many things I could have delivered to my home just by visiting websites and paying online through my bank account. I order vegetables, bread, reusable bottles of water, appliances and groceries online.

I rarely go to the bank. I pay everyone online and avoid those long lines.

Then, I learned how to use GPS on my phone. I don’t get lost or have to ask for directions, and I saved my breath by learning how to send people my location through WhatsApp.

I had grant forms to fill out for the Wishing for Wings Foundation online, so I figured out how to put electronic signatures on forms that can be filled out online. You can save yourself time by knowing that electronic signatures only save on most documents if they are saved as PDF files. Suddenly, documents I worked on for hours and then struggled to have printed, now took minutes to complete and could be sent online.

Technology saved me so much time. Appointments for the doctor and many government offices – like the Licensing Office – could be made online rather than hanging on the telephone for government offices that never answer the phone. I can make appointments online with my doctor and avoid the busy signal as other patients try to make appointments.

The more I explored, the more I learned, and the more confident I got. Technology is now a joyful challenge. I can figure out any technology on my own or troubleshoot through Google or YouTube, which has videos to help you learn anything.

Technology changes at a blistering pace, but keeping up with the changes is fun, and the changes usually make things easier for us to navigate our way through cyberspace. Technology allows us to manage our lives better, and finding our place in this new technological world makes us more independent. It challenges our brains, helps build problem-solving skills and makes us feel better connected.

This I know for sure: if I can feel comfortable with technology, anyone can.