The world has taken giant leaps technologically in the past few years but many senior citizens find it hard to keep pace with digital interventions in daily life. The training programme of International Longevity Centre (ILC), India, for the elderly population to make them "digitally literate" was a silver lining for them.
Anjali Raje, the executive director of
ILC-I, said, "The seniors in our organisation felt cellphone should not be the personal banker of citizens only, it should be a 'friend' of every senior citizen. So, we took the initiative of making seniors cellphone-friendly. Our training sessions help seniors become more comfortable with cellphones and use their different features to make life more qualitative."
A young team of ILC-I, all adept in cellphone and its related technologies, are the trainers of senior citizens. They share cellphone technology tips with the elderlies in batches of 18- 20 people.
Seniors get a hands-on experience on uses of cellphones, apps and how to download them in the sessions. They also learn to create e-mail ids, send and read mails, and type in regional language (Marathi) using various apps. They are trained on making online payment of utility bills and using social media, too.
After the session, many senior citizens have become experts in hiring cabs and autos using apps. They can also book cinema, bus, train and plane tickets with elan just by tapping on their handsets.
ILC-I has trained 240 senior citizens under this programme from June 2017 to December 2017. "Its uniqueness is trainers attended to each senior citizen personally. The youngsters make efforts to address the queries of the elderlies on cellphones on one-on-one basis.
They walk out happy after completing the programme," said Raje.
ILC-I distributed complimentary copies of a book on smartphones written by a technical expert among the senior citizens for reference whenever in doubt.
Many cellphone-friendly senior citizens are now using the social media to stay connected with near and dear ones. Some apps brought entertainment at their fingertips and search engines gave them access to whatever information they wanted.
"Most importantly, the smartphone helped dispel their feeling of loneliness and isolation, How? Well, it provides them easier connectivity with family and friends. They no more go into depression because of newfound camaraderie through cellphone," said a trainer.
The thoroughly enjoyable learning experience of senior citizens besides their child-like enthusiasm, excitement and energy to learn how to use the cellphone with all its different features gave that "aha" feeling to several trainers.
