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PATIENCE, PLANNING AND SUPPORT: REFLECTIONS ON DEALING WITH AGING FAMILY MEMBERS
The “Digital Divide” generally refers to the gap between those that benefit from the Digital Age and those that do not. However, within this divide are those who wish to benefit from the conveniences of digital technology but have difficulty navigating the devices that allow entrance to the Digital Age. Frequently, members of the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) or Boomers (born between 1945 and 1964) – collectively referred to in this paper as the “Silver Generation”
- fall within this demographic. While most individuals in this age group use computers, cell phones, and other digital devices and applications daily, when the hardware or applications stop working as the user is accustomed to, they cannot fix the device without assistance. This has given rise to an entire department at Best Buy (the Geek Squad), which also comes at a high cost to those on limited incomes. More likely, before turning to the professionals, members of the Silver Generation reach out to family or friends as technical advisers to keep their systems functional. I currently find myself in this role and thought it would benefit others to share some tips on managing the Digital Divide among the Silver Generation.
Perhaps I am stating the obvious, but sitting in front of a computer when working to correct settings or updating the software makes the job immeasurably easier than telling someone else how to make these changes over the phone. Yet, most amateur technicians have other obligations that prohibit in-person review of their relatives’ tech problems at a moment’s notice. Software for “shadowing” is available but generally requires the two parties to be on the same network, and using it is complicated.
Trying to give technical advice over the phone can cause many problems. For instance, I am the technical advisor for someone in the Silver Generation, whom we will call “Bob.” Bob and I both work on Apple computers, while the rest of Bob’s family uses Windows computers. This is, in part, why I became Bob’s technical advisor. However, I live 500 miles away from him and often could not work on his system in person. Moreover, my laptop ran a different operating system due to the age and ability to update Bob’s computer. Therefore, even though the System Preferences controlled the settings on both machines, the available settings were not identical. While I followed on my laptop to give the best description that I could, Bob did not see the same screen I was describing, so my initial attempts to help him largely failed.
We found a solution to this practical problem by using Facetime to call each other when Bob’s computer needed updating or other issues needed to be addressed. Facetime (available on iPhones/Google Duo will work similarly on Android devices) allows users to switch to the back camera to show the computer screen. Seeing the screen also helps
when software (as opposed to the operating system) has issues. Bob has a remote desktop for his office. If the remote desktop is occupying the computer when work needs to be done on the host machine, it is easy to get confused about which computer system needs changes or which
is even occupying the screen. As a tech advisor, trying
to advise what to click without seeing which desktop is currently open can result in hilarious situations (or incredible frustration, depending on your outlook!). By using Facetime, advice about what to open and what settings to change is specific and has made correcting computer issues much easier. In my case, how Bob holds the phone so I can see the screen is a work in progress but is generally a slight but constant impediment to effective technical advising.
Keeping digital devices running well depends on the age
of the device but also depends on updating the operating system. Most computers can be set to update the operating system, software, or applications automatically. However, owners need to install these updates (or approve the installation of the software before it installs). This is true
for smartphones and tablets as well. It seems updates and patches for applications on these devices are pushed out constantly. Updates are critical in maintaining a secure digital environment. In my experience, many users in the Silver Generation who need technical assistance with their digital machines do not regularly check for or install updates either because they do not understand the importance of updating software or don’t know how to update the software (or believe that the software will automatically update
but don’t realize they need to approve the installation or restart the computer for the updates to take effect). When
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