Here’s a little something I learned about talking tech with older folks, boomers in particular…
With a lot of us, you can just be told what to tap/click/type in order to get the device to do what you want, or stop doing what you don’t want. And that’s good enough. For a lot of older folks, they also want to know why - what exactly did I do by tapping/clicking/typing that, and how does that fix the problem, and why is it designed that way to begin with? Knowing that helps them see beyond what’s on the screen to what the device is actually doing. And if they don’t get that info, then the problem with the device remains mysterious.
Whenever I find myself helping an older person with their phone or computer, I try to share as much as I know about whatever we’re doing. And if I can’t I just say, “I don’t know why it’s designed like that but this will fix your problem.” Goes a long way.
Here’s a little something I learned about talking tech with older folks, boomers in particular…
With a lot of us, you can just be told what to tap/click/type in order to get the device to do what you want, or stop doing what you don’t want. And that’s good enough. For a lot of older folks, they also want to know why - what exactly did I do by tapping/clicking/typing that, and how does that fix the problem, and why is it designed that way to begin with? Knowing that helps them see beyond what’s on the screen to what the device is actually doing. And if they don’t get that info, then the problem with the device remains mysterious.
Whenever I find myself helping an older person with their phone or computer, I try to share as much as I know about whatever we’re doing. And if I can’t I just say, “I don’t know why it’s designed like that but this will fix your problem.” Goes a long way.
Trying it but my grandma is stubborn.
Essentially the kind of “I don’t habe time for this shit” and “I am too old for this shit”
Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Okay yeah I don’t have an approach for that lol.