Technology and Parents
Teaching aging parents to use smartphones can be extremely beneficial as well as joyful.
I bought my mother a smartphone when she had no idea how to use it. I was skeptical at first but she started slowly picking up the phonebook, reading SMS and downloading play store apps.
The real moment of joy was when she started using WhatsApp and sent a few messages to me and my sister. I added her to our cousins' group and she became the first senior of our family to join the young group. She would send those annoying forwarded good morning and good night messages. Later I taught her how to type Marathi and she got hold of it without too much effort. She types faster than I do now. She now makes video calls to my sister on her own. She has recently started using youtube (though it's a pain to convince her that not everything on YouTube is true and there is no snake in the Himalayas with 5 heads though the video says so).
She is now finishing her first ever digital book on her Kindle which gave the TV and me a much-deserved break from that Saas bahu daily soaps.
One of these days I am hoping that she would start using Google Maps and Uber. What a day that would be.
My father is a slow learner compared to my mother. A tough policeman throughout his life, he is having a hard time with technology. Even though I taught him how to use a phone book several times, he still dials every contact by typing numbers. He has the latest smartphone now and became the last senior who made his entry in the aforementioned cousins' group. I am hoping that he would speed up to my mother someday.
I taught my parents as well as my uncle how to use Google voice typing and they were looking at me as if I had invented that stuff. They asked questions as if toddlers would do with the new toys. My uncle even sent me a message “kaay challay” (how are you doing) in Marathi most probably using the newly learned skill of voice typing later in the day which made me super happy.
It's a joyous feeling to see your parents and other oldies make progress with the gadgets because when we are not around, (and it happens a lot ) they wouldn't have to depend on anyone for simple tasks.
Having said that I also warn them from time to time about phishing calls and how to respond to them. Still, it worries me at times and I have deliberately kept them away from the payment wallets and banking apps.
Some other ways technology has helped me with my parents-
When I was away from them I still would pay all the bills online, I could book a cooking gas cylinder online, book an Uber for my mother, and pay property tax online. I have used just dial numerous times to call plumbers to pundits for Satyanarayana Pooja. If they had to do it all by themselves, it would have been a lot more difficult for them.
My father is diabetic. My sister bought him a glucometer which has proven extremely useful for us to monitor his sugar level.
How does technology benefit youngsters? It has brought unprecedented freedom to us reducing the worries for our parents.
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The above post is part of my answer on Quora around April 2018 - How technology benefits youngsters?
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