Monday, September 19, 2016

New Technology May Not Be The Best Phone Service For Elderly People

By Kevin Collins


Cellular telephones have taken over the world, and many very young people do not realize that the land-line system still works. Small screens, short battery life, and constantly updating applications make use of modern tech daunting for some people. An old-fashioned, tethered line may be the very best phone service for elderly men and women.

The simple fact that it is what they are used to using makes it an ideal tool for many aging people. As Alzheimer takes some of them, they forget things they learned more recently. One day they might remember how to use their cell phone, but the next day they might be wandering in circles trying to find an old rotary phone they remembered having as a child.

Older phones had large, often well-lit buttons which are easier for even the most tech-savvy member of the Baby Boomers to use. There are many younger men who still insist on having the older style flip phones that still have buttons rather than a touch-screen. However, even those phones had buttons which are very small and difficult to see for one who suffers cataracts, or some other vision problem.

With so many older people stuck in homes, apartments, or retirement communities, their need for cellular technology is nonexistent. Many people reach a point where they can no longer drive at all, and they prefer to sit comfortably when talking to their friends and loved ones. Eventually this infrastructure may fall apart, but for this generation, it does continue to exist.

Home phones often had a ring you could hear from out in the yard, and wireless phones will beep if the device is removed from the cradle for too long. Even young people will rush about trying to find their device when it rings, digging it from a purse or out of a pocket. Older people are not always able to rush, and the weird ring tones of today often confuse them or they do not identify it as a ringing sound at all.

When they miss our call, we worry about them for no reason. If they do not answer a call, then their telephone ceases to function as a telecommunication device. Everyone has a different comfort level with technology, and we must keep their own level of comfort in mind when helping them remain safe and connected with friends and family.

We may even think we are helping them by attempting to teach them how to use newer technologies. We tend to be pushy with parents or grandparents sometimes, convinced that they will see how much better this technology is if they will simply listen to us. The fact is, whether they are unable or unwilling to learn it, our insistence that they catch up with the times is rude.

It becomes nearly rude when one forces an older person to utilize technology they are not accustomed to. As we age, we become set in our ways and nearly fearful of change. There is no benefit to forcing a person to use a tool they do not understand.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment