According to a survey by AARP, 81% of seniors of age 60 to 69 years own a smartphone while 62% of those 70 and older are smartphone users. The share of smartphone use among older adults has increased rapidly in the past decade as there were only 13% smartphone users of 65 years or older in 2012.
As the share of senior smartphone users grows, companies and developers are making more efforts to make smartphones accessible to seniors. Seniors now have access to smartphones with accessibility options to simplify menus and enlarge text and icons to make them senior-friendly and easy to use. There is a huge variety of apps and games that have been designed specifically for seniors and the elderly.
If you are a senior looking for how to guide on smartphones, this article will help you on why you should embrace smartphones and provide
How are the seniors using their smartphones? The key findings of different surveys suggest:
Smartphones provide many features to assist seniors with daily life activities. Let us discuss some of the advantages of owning a smartphone for older adults.
Before looking at the ways to set up a smartphone for seniors and discussing how to use a smartphone for seniors, let us share some benefits of using a smartphone for older adults.
The primary advantage of owning a smartphone is to be able to stay connected with family and friends. While a simple cellphone enables you to stay in contact with your loved ones through calls and texts, a smartphone enables you to follow their activities on social media networks and share photos, videos and happy moments through WhatsApp and video calls.
You do not need to follow tv schedules to watch news bulletins or stay up to date with weather reports and your favorite sports events. Your favorite newspapers and tv channels have an online presence to share their content so you can follow things at your own pace.
Smartphones bring an array of health benefits for seniors and the elderly to monitor their health on daily basis, including:
The elderly with mobility issues can find indoor workout routines online to stay healthy and active, if they cannot go out for walks and exercise.
Smartphones enable you to find articles, documentaries or online forums and groups of like-minded individuals who share the same interests. If you love golf, you can find tips and tutorials about golf equipment online and get in touch with other seniors who share the passion for golf with you through social media.
Are you into cooking? find YouTube channels about your favorite cuisine. If you love to travel, hundreds of seniors are spending their retirement life going around the world and making vlogs for you along the way. No matter what you are passionate about, explore your interest online through your smartphone.
Smartphones have become all-in-one entertainment centers. You can watch movies or your favorite tv shadow at the time and place of your choice. Play video games and solve puzzles. Listen to your favorite podcast or use entertainment apps. Read your favorite book in PDF format or watch countless YouTube videos of things you like. You can keep up with entertainment news or follow celebrities on social networks.
Online entertainment opportunities are endless and smartphones make it easy for you to access them anytime.
Smartphone apps make it easy for older adults to access transportation services for their travel needs. Seniors need to travel for hospital appointments, shopping and other purposes and many of them stop driving because of old age issues.
Transportation services like Uber and Lyft make it easy for them to call a ride on their doorsteps instead of chasing a taxi down the road. They do not need to rely on others or walk down to a bus stop or train station if they have mobility issues.
Seniors can use smartphones to travel to a destination with directions from apps like Google Maps. Finding the location of a business, restaurant or other place and driving there without asking for directions from anyone is a great advantage of a smartphone.
You can access your bank accounts and do banking activities from your smartphone, avoiding the need to visit the bank and stand in queues.
Online banking enables you to pay bills online, access bank statements without visiting your bank and stay up to date with your bank balance and any activity in your account.
Increasing number of seniors are choosing to shop online as it is convenient for them. The elderly with mobility issues do not need to go out for groceries or other necessities as everything is delivered to the door these days.
You can find your favorite books, clothing or any household items delivered to your door without the hassle of going to three different stores to get stuff.
The use of smartphones reduces boredom, depression and loneliness among seniors living alone. If you are aging at home alone, it is a good idea to keep your brain active and stimulated with some games and puzzles on your smartphone.
You can teach yourself a new language or learn how to knit on your smartphone. The purpose is to give your brain some workout and keep yourself busy while learning something and avoid loneliness and boredom.
Smartphones and technology in general can be overwhelming for older adults because of many cultural, mental and psychological factors. Some seniors avoid smartphones because of the learning curve they have to go through to use them.
The good news is that there are certain things you can do to make smartphones senior-friendly and easy to use. Here are some ways to optimize a smartphone for seniors.
You can increase text size and make text bold for a better reading experience.
iPhone users can go to Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size to make text larger and bold and increase contrast and other readability settings. Android users can go to Settings > Accessibility > Text and Display to set the text size and make it bold. You can also enable high-contrast mode and more.
You can make the keyboard bigger for a better typing experience for seniors.
For iPhone, go to Settings > Display and Brightness and tap View and then choose Zoomed. It will enlarge the keyboard, buttons, controls and other UI elements. For Android, open an app that uses a keyboard and tap the Settings icon on the keyboard. Tap References > Keyboard height and chose an option Mid-tall, Tall or Extra tall.
It is very important to organize the home screen to make a smartphone senior-friendly as it is the first thing they see after the phone display is on. You can do a few things to make the Home screen clean.
You can also configure the lock screen by either removing the screen lock option or making it easy (if you are using a password or pattern to lock). Alternatively, use face recognition or fingerprint unlock as they are easier options for seniors.
Install some apps that seniors like to use regularly like video calling apps, banking apps, Uber or Lyft and some games like puzzles and word games. You can also get some health apps and social media apps for older adults.
Increase the sounds of ringer and text message notification sounds for seniors with hearing impairment. You can also enable vibration and increase volume for media use and other alerts.
Smartphones can be a bit tricky for seniors in the beginning as there is a learning curve for learning basics if you have your first smartphone. There are many resources for seniors to help them get going including books, videos and smartphone tutorials for seniors. Here are some of the best resources on how to use a smartphone for seniors.
Seniors love physical books to learn techniques because they can always refer back to the books if they forget something and it is easier for them to read on paper. There are plenty of books, specifically for seniors and beginners, to learn smartphones basics with detailed tutorials.
Your comprehensive reference guide to Android phones. This book covers all basics of android phones for seniors and beginners including:
Best-selling author Dan Gookin puts in touch with all android features that you need to know, cutting through the jargon. Starting from setting up an android phone to major features such as text, internet, maps, navigation and photos. You will learn all about communicating and use of social media through your android phone.
This book is your friendly guide to the essentials of operating an android phone with larger print and color images. The book walks you through steps to turn your smartphone into a communication, photography and media powerhouse.
You can pick a few tricks and tips and show to your friends and family which they probably have never used in an android phone before.
The number 1 best seller book with step-by-step guide specifically for seniors who want to learn to use their new iPhone to the fullest.
This is one of the best guides for senior iPhone owners with tips and tricks for beginners.
Using smartphones bring many benefits and advantages for older adults and senior smartphone users are growing at a rapid pace. There are many apps, games and how-to guides for seniors to help them start with their smartphones, as discussed above.
Most of the latest smartphones are not senior-friendly with small font sizes, controls and buttons. Seniors cannot keep up with the changes that come with each software and smartphone update and find it difficult to operate complex user interfaces on a small size screen.
Some steps to make a smartphone senior-friendly
Teach your grandparents to use a smartphone by
Apple’s iPhone runs iOS which is easy to use operating system with accessibility features to allow text magnification, voice dictation and other seniors-friendly options like hearing aid compatibility. A great selection of seniors-friendly and high-quality apps make the iPhone a better option for seniors.
Some of the motivating factors for seniors to learn using a smartphone include
Hello and thank you for the advice above. I am now in my 88th year. I am able to surf the Net on my Computer and thankfully I have been able to find you. I have a small Doro mobile phone and at one time thought that if I had a computer why would I want a Smartphone. I’ve changed my mind since! It has been difficult to book a seat in a Theatre or even to access mail from a hospital or my G.P. I am unable to translate a link. You will understand that this has been a major worry for me. My son bought a Samsung ‘phone but without any directions I was unable to understand the symbols. My son was very understanding he said that it was like stepping into the sixth form without
attending Junior School. People had been using Smartphones five years earlier,
and of course they knew what to expect. Since reading your article I think I will try for the I phone it looks as though it will be straight forward. Sorry this has been a long tirade rather than a comment but I think you may have “broken the ice” and I can join the 21st Century!! Drinks all round! Thank you very much. Reply
i teach older adults and i deal with IT all the time. Digital Inclusion plus family in this digital age. Seniors who are digital inclusive are 75 and older these are ‘seniors’. 60-70 are usually teachers of IT. just saying the age bracket has changed dramaticlly over years … Reply
