Looking back, the telephone was probably the first ‘high tech’ thing I faced, and when my grandpa was ill, my parents had one installed (‘avocado green’ if I remember rightly). Granny didn’t have a phone, but there was a call box on her corner, so she would update us from there. When grandpa died, my parents had the phone disconnected - I don’t think anyone else they knew had one anyway, so who was there to call?

Nowadays, even those glass hobs commonly found in kitchens are so complex that the handbook would forever be open alongside it in case of accidentally locking it ‘off’ while faced with the challenge of turning one hob up and another down.

Touch screens

I wonder how my granny would have coped with a smartphone? No wires attached, mystifyingly connected with no operator, no dial, no handset. Just a pocket-sized lump of plastic that has numbers, passwords, and a magical call list that replaces your address book. Some calls need to be answered with a swipe up, or a swipe sideways, or just a tap - or an exasperated stab in most cases. Most contain a good camera too, and some phones will allow video calling -something not always welcome on a ‘bad hair’ day!

A lot of people don’t realise that touchscreens just stop registering your touch when you get older. The reason? The older you get, the less moisture there is in your skin, which at some point makes touchscreens ignore you. So don’t laugh at us when you see us struggling.

Apps

Did you know some are designed just for oldies? Focusing on health and safety, cognitive stimulation or communication. Hmm. So, I suppose we aren’t allowed to have fun with anything, though I see word and number puzzles are out there ‘to stimulate the brain’.


The Husband has just struggled (with colourful language) to provide ‘proof of life’ on an app for a pension, that worked fine on his iPad last year, but oh no, not this year – phone only, and had to provide a short video of himself. I bet there were other oldies that were totally baffled. He pulled a grimacing face – but they accepted it. Probably got a whole stack of weird faces in their files.

On-line banking

Is this the bane of everyone’s lives? Passwords, passwords, passwords – they have to be changed, details have to be confirmed periodically, and I, for one, am hesitant to do it in case someone is hacking me and takes my dosh. And it’s not just money they steal – all your preferences and all your friends’ contacts - it’s pretty scary out there. You can’t beat going to the bank and standing in line to actually talk to someone, and join the ranks of people gossiping and huffing about how long it takes, or the weather, and coming out with a piece of paper that reassuringly confirms your leccy bill has been paid, or your savings are still intact.


TV

Gone are the days of walking to the TV to change the channel; the remotes do it all, but woe betide you press the wrong key or drop it and it changes something critical before you get a chance to catch it. Yes, I know a 4-year-old could probably cope, and will certainly know which channel they want to, but sadly, not everyone is so technically blessed.

Fear of Technology

Sometimes seniors fear technology, as many didn’t use it in their working lives, and get frustrated when trying to understand. Changes in vision and dexterity, cognitive factors, and anxiety all surround new devices. While not all oldies struggle, these challenges are common and often stem from a lack of instruction and accessible design rather than an inherent inability to learn.

The keys on the phone are so small, and Fat Finger Syndrome (yes, this is a real ‘thing’) could result in a disaster – imagine transferring €5000 instead of €50 in error, or sending an unwanted autocorrected (maybe rude) word in a message to your boss – the results could make you squirm.