New Smartphone Users

After our discussion on Seniors and CMC it made me think about some instances I've had in my own family. My grandparents just recently got their first cell phones. Yes, cell phones. I'm not talking about a brand new smartphone with all the bells and whistles. Anyway, they've never used a computer before and the thought of having to teach them technology like that is a scary one. I have had this experience with my mother though, as she just bought her first smartphone. To this day, I still get all the "how do I..." questions. The answers seem so simple to me, but I forget that I am a digital native.

With this in mind, I was questioning what the best way to accommodate a digital immigrant is in their learning process. I found an article on lifehacker explaining the best way to set up a smartphone for those that have never used one before. Melanie Pinola, the author of the article, starts by explaining her own personal situation with her 70-year old mother in law that she gave a smartphone for her birthday. She says that she was excited about bringing her into a new age of technology but was worried about her mother in law learning how to properly use it. This reminded me of our discussion on overaccommodtion we had in class. Already Melanie was acting as though she would have no idea what she was doing. That may sound bad, but could very well be the case. She gives a few interesting tips on how to make it a little easier.

Her first bit of advice is to go through the setup process with them. Then, save all of their login information. Chances are, you'll need to retrieve their passwords for them at some point. Next, make sure you enable find my phone just in case a panic attack takes place when it gets lost under couch cushions. Along with this, take the time to setup their lock screen for them and have emergency contacts ready in case they forget how to get into their phone. After all of that, she basically says to just show them how to use everything. One point she brings up that I thought was very interesting is that the younger kids will usually press every button to figure out what they do. Seniors on the other hand, will ask you to show them what they do. I can personally agree with this, especially when I had to teach my mom all the buttons.

She closes by saying that their is a lot of ground to cover, and posted important manufacturer links in case there was an emergency while you are not around. Overall, I think it is important to teach the older generation about technology such as this, but you shouldn't underestimate them. They'll get the hang of it sooner than you think!