Digital access for seniors and the elderly

I’ve found that seniors are only too keen to learn more about online access. The main issue is access to the training, that doesn’t assume you are already a competent user.

Why wouldn’t a senior enjoy, say, Nintendo, Virtual reality, Play Station, online access to library books, science, the arts, etc?

Take the marketing for say a Smart TV! The overload of jargon is enough to scare a computer science honours graduate. Beginners don’t need to know its ultimate and advanced facilities, rather some basics about the features that most people use most of the time, their benefits, opportunities, ease of use.

The worst example that increasingly seniors are required to use is “MyGov”. That is a painful experience. Nothing intuitive about it. The interfaces to each department are like transiting a moat designed to keep you out, or locked in!

Associated with this is the current personal data stored in perpetuity. I understand and agree with the need to jump through lots of identity hoops, in the first place. But, once done, is that data required? Instead surely all that is needed is confirmation the hoops were all cleared.

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My mother, who has since died, refused to get involved with anything IT except a basic mobile phone. I spent many hours and days on the phone with Telstra (she was in the country with no other telco provider) trying to sort out my mother’s phone connections etc because Telstra kept pointing to their website to solve my mother’s issues. There are many people out there in this space.

Two big problems for all consumers are 1) not being able to contact anyone in a Government Department or Company by phone and 2) if a telephone number is provided a person has to wait an enormous amount of time to speak to someone. Many Government Departments and Businesses assume their website will answer everything or solve all customer problems.

There are some businesses that get it right eg iiNet where they tell you where in the queue you are regarding the time it will take to answer your call, and if you want, you can leave your number, so they will ring you back, and they do!

Why is it not a requirement of all businesses (over a certain size), and all Government Departments* to have this set up as part of their operation and a requirement to answers calls within a certain time? Note during COVID Telstra refused/was not able to answer phone calls.

Note many sons and daughters have no option but to deal with their elderly parents issues over the phone because their parents do not have an on-line account!

It would increase productivity and decrease frustration all around.

Can Choice put this in its basket of issues to address?

  • Anyone waiting on the end of a Government phone call is sick of hearing about its privacy regulations etc and the long instructions on how to visit its website!
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I can relate to all that. I am 65, and honestly, often I just can’t be bothered even trying to deal with IT. When I make the effort, and think I have done it all right {crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s} if it goes pear shaped for whatever reason, I will give up. It takes so much longer than just a phone call - and it’s usually a “cost saving” for them. But not a “money saving” for me, so why should I be the one spending hours on a site that sometimes, just hasn’t been built intelligently enough.

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My view is that as you age, you come to understand there is no such general group as the elderly. You just get more experienced. People may be old or feel pain or loneliness or fatigue but not old per se.

Below is related information for those seniors willing/able to learn and/or their carers. Of course I’m not suggesting this includes people like my 95yo mother with dementia and no memory.

ASCCA is the Peak Body representing Computer and Technology groups and clubs for Seniors throughout Australia https://ascca.org.au/ . It has some very useful resources at Self Help Links – ASCCA .

For seniors without IT background, Be Connected https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/ - an Australian government site with online lessons and learning locations is a good place to start. I’m 65 and have been attending webinars with BC partner trainers for the past 2 years during COVID. I am usually among the youngest attendees.

These sessions are often hosted by libraries online. This improves trust and confidence in able seniors to learn. There is generally a good emphasis on online safety which helps with resistance to change that will become inevitable such as dealing with government on line e.g. MyGov functions such as MyHealth Record, Medicare, Tax and Centrelink.

Given that the 2 new Omicron sub-variants have just started here, and vulnerable seniors may find themselves in isolation, webinars can provide a social network while at home as a lot of the seniors are engaged in these activities.

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Some great practical advice.

It may be worth suggesting

  1. We don’t all have equal access to the digital revolution. It’s vastly improved but not universal.
  2. There is a cost to access digital services, whether a data add on to a mobile plan or the NBN.
  3. There is a cost for the physical device/s required to join the digital revolution.

For those with limited mobility an added challenge is needing someone to provide support. It may be minimal, or a much greater need.

Staying secure online, and keeping your digital life securely backed up are other needs. Device loss or failure, or personal failure all require that the pieces can be picked up without undue stress and effort.

Are those needs understood and met?

P.S.
The last on personal records is very relevant at the moment. One family member has lived on the one mobile device (Cheap Android mobile phone) for some years. One swipe is enough to delete any amount of records. We all need help at some time to ensure how our digital lives are set up is not leaving us exposed.

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I have an elderly relative who has struggled for years in a digital environment which increasingly does not allow for older people who are not computer literate. Completely unable to use even a tablet, and certainly not able to master any form of computing at all, she has had to rely on me to handle any online services on her behalf. Although I have had a Power of Attorney over her for years I had not (until recently) activated that because that would be the equivalent of telling her she was not competent. Instead, I have had to manage all of her Internet dealings “illegally” so that she could negotiate the myriad obstacles that we all have to deal with in a connected world.

I have been irritated by the general assumption that everyone is Internet savvy and can conduct their lives online unaided. Many organisations cannot (will not) deal with people face-to-face or even via telephone, and insist on online form filling, webchats or other technologically. It has become harder with Covid and I have wasted many hours of my time doing things for her online because she cannot do it for herself.

Elderly people fall into two main categories. Those who caught the computer bus and manage to handle life’s digital highway. Others have been left standing on the bus stop wondering what the hell just happened. Until this generation dies, society needs to remember those people standing on the bus stop, and help them negotiate the footpath through life.

Whether it be businesses or Government Departments I find the same lack of options for older people and even with my own affairs the overall structures are not always easy to follow - and I am computer literate and comfortable negotiating the 'net.

My relative has now deteriorated and I have invoked the various care documents so that I can legitimately do what I have been doing unofficially for years. However, I find that there remains unnecessary complexity and far too little personal and human involvements in our lives. I believe that this is all due to an over reliance on algorithms and scripted, digital interfaces rather than having the option of talking to a real human being. The days of just picking up the 'phone seem to be long gone.

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YES!
I’m only in my 60’s but do not have access to savvy friends/relatives, and not working means no clever colleagues or help desk.
Even replying now caused angst as forgot password, ‘link to log in…’ took me back to requiring password to reply. So Again renewed password. Using an iPad means going to Firefox to enable keyboard.
Has Choice Community changed its ‘ layout/ arrangement’?
Anxiety about internet safety after people much more intelligent than I have been caught in scams. Having to change and remember passwords is a chore.
And the biggest frustration is when something doesn’t work - lost yahoo email from phone - many wasted hours seeking tech support - no ‘genius’ or other experts have been able to resolve this.
Solutions? I’d love every library to have an IT helper, including mobile libraries.

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If it helps to know, I use an iPad. The Choice Community and Choice subscription reviews web sites both function fine with Safari. The Apple keypad pops up without any issues. The edit window sometimes misbehaves when scrolling. That’s the only issue I’ve noticed.

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Thanks, can’t remember why but I prefer Mozilla :blush:

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My partner is 70 and never needed to use computers in carpet cleaning, his job for 45 years. He cannot do anything except look up Google Maps and using ATM related to IT. He forgets everything i teach him about using Apps. I so administration for him like a personal assistant. I think it a case of not wanting to change nor learn how. It is sad.

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Very well expressed, especially regarding loss of confidence. That comes particularly if your eyesight is failing due to macular degeneration. When my wife was in her forties she did a course on computer programming on the original Macintosh! Now she is not able to use our laptop, but can use an iPhone for phone calls and SMS messages, if the text size is set to very large.

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Excellent point about providing accessibility for all!

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Me too, I have been a seller on Ebay for 21 years, I certainly do have issues every time someone does an upgrade, Microsoft causes the most grief, they just start upgrades while I am on line, I struggle as the computer starts to act up. Ebay is OK, even better since they got rid of Paypal, the new listing procedure is now much longer as they require everything listed that is already in my description.
At 77, I started with a Microbee before the internet started, constant new stuff make it harder to stay intouch. Why is everything so tricky? I guess one just madly clicks away untill the desired result is achieved. Dont even get me started on “chats” when one has an issue. All you receive are “stationary” generated replies, just forget “asking a question” Companies and governments try to answer everything with these stock replies, the replies never answer my question, I believe it is about fobbing off and patting down to cut costs, just to make one give up and go away, similar to overseas call centers, same nonsence, waste of time

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My wife is dissinterested in anything computer, is having a struggle with our new TV, the remote has no channel numbers, she just turns it off.

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I am 76 years old, and I consider myself pretty computer savvy. I even build my own computers and maintain a local sport’s club’s website.
But I find the Government’s “MyGov” website a nightmare to navigate and use.
Not only that, it is terribly slow (NBN connection) and often stalls or shows an error message - even in what one would assume is a quiet period.
Other Government websites usually don’t appear much better.

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I am 82 and reasonably ok with basic comms and phone usage.
However the constant lack with company’s not making phone contact available and technical changes by service providers makes computer usage very annoying and difficult.

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It is not just about being computer savvy but about devices becoming obsolete - not everyone has the funds to be constantly upgrading, many apps and sites will not work on older devices with older operating systems, locking out and further disenfranchising the less well off.

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I agree with previous posters who have mentioned any change or accidental error leading to stress and frusttration, for my mother in her 80s.

And of course, things change all the time. Or perhaps they need to, to save money. I organized a new NBN plan for her while visiting, which required a new modem, and configuration.
As with other services or products, if you stay with the same provider they will rip you off, and if you change to a new one you get a better deal. So does she stick with the expensive virus-protection and firewall software that she’s had for 5+ years, or swap to something different and much cheaper?

And she’s not great at security: remembering passwords and using different, difficult ones for different sites. But the password manager I set up for her has been a major source of stress. She still finds it hard to use, even after a lot of training. And goes back to her old passwords, written on a piece of paper stuck to the screen.

We have used Team Viewer in the past, for me to set up or troubleshoot issues remotely (and I can directly make changes to her PC using the software). That works, but I’m worried she’ll leave it running, or give someone else access accidentally.

Even her mobile phone was a problem. She hated having to enter a password or pattern so didn’t set one up. At least her new phone has a fingerprint reader and she’s willing to use that.

I also agree that government websites are often pretty user-unfriendly. When trying to get her Covid vaccine evidence, she went down a 6-hour rabbit hole, completely unrelated to what she needed: setting up online identity verification. She gets so frustrated and it makes her feel incompetent. Let’s face it, many of these websites are tricky even for those of us who are computer-savvy.

On the plus side, she knows that YouTube has instructional videos for almost anything, and knows how to find those. That has been a real winner.

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My in-laws are 88 & 92 and have NEVER used a computer or smart device.
They have a smart TV and and everything they do is written down so they can use it. It is not unusual to get a call saying the TV is not working - usually it’s slow internet (but that’s another story)
We all help to do things for them online but we all use our own accounts to do this.
Most places they interact can be supported without online but is getting harder

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Two problems I think here 1. Price and 2. design of webpages/apps/portals

Price - a good tablet or smart phone is not cheap for pensioners. I am a member of the local seniors club, and I see that many of the members don’t use a PC but rely on a tablet or phone. Some are super competent, while I encounter some who won’t even have a smart phone either because of price or because they don’t seen the need for one. The lack of a smart phone because quite an issue when we required members to use sign in using the Covid tracking QRcode.

Design of systems/apps etc. - one real problem with digital access is the lack of humans at the other end, and the reliance by companies on BOTs and FAQs. If, as I did recently have a query that is a little out of the ordinary and not dealt with by the company’s FAQs you can go around and around in a circle trying to speak to a human instead of a BOT. I find if I need to get a company’s attention I either send them an email, a message via Facebook (which is an evil but useful tool) or, as in the case of the Tax Office when I was sorting out a deceased estate I sent and old fashioned letter - and volia I get a response!

I agree with Nordo re MYGOV - it is better than it used to be, but still is clunky. I still have an ongoing issue that it will not recognise my email because I also used it for my late mother’;s account - once when I managed to speak to someone about this I was advised to get another email!! Oddly, I do get alerts to my actual email anyway.

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