Digital Skills 4 Seniors

Renewing your British passport is a wonderful advert for the digital world. I have just gone through this process and am very IMPRESSED!!! This was what happened:- I popped down to Tesco Guildford branch and took my passport photo in the photo booth. I received a printed photo, but more important received via email the photo and the cloud reference of the photo. Then I went home and completed the online application. When I got to the section on submitted my latest photo, all I did was type in the cloud reference and the photo was automatically input into my online form. Having completed the application I paid the £88.50 for a standard non-urgent passport. Next I popped into our local post office and sent my old passport (signed for) to the passport office. The passport office kept me updated on all receipts and progress through the renewal process. My new passport arrived on Friday WOW!!!!! My cancelled old passport arrived a few weeks later. AMAZING and so easy seniors should not hesi...

When we left South Africa in 1986 we left behind our family and that was tough. I think phoning home cost £ a minute so we only did it for special occasions. Years later when our daughter, son in law and two little granddaughters went to live in Bangkok for three years we had Apple FaceTime. This made a massive difference as we were able to keep in close contact with our family. We saw our youngest granddaughter's first steps walking. Every year they had a family trip back to the UK staying with us and our little granddaughters when they arrived would run and jump into our arms. We had been such a part of their lives and had not become strangers despite the thousands of miles separating us. Now to the future of video connecting with families ...... Surrey University Research Project We became aware, through attending a really interesting workshop, of the Surrey Healthy Ageing Research Partnership (SHARP).  A partnership between older members of the public and researchers at the Uni...

I asked CoPilot, my Microsoft Artificial Intelligence tool that question and this was the answer given.  UK seniors face a variety of challenges in the digital age, and their fears about the future are often related to these struggles. Here are some insights: Note: This photo was generated by CoPilot   50 Things UK Seniors Struggle With in the Digital Age: 1. Lack of basic digital skills (e.g., turning on devices, entering account logins) lack the basic skills. 2.Difficulty navigating websites and apps. 3. Understanding and using settings and controls on devices lack the basic skills. 4. Setting up Wi-Fi connections lack the basic skills. 5. Keeping passwords secure and changing them when prompted lack the basic skills. 6. Opening and using applications lack the basic skills. 7. Managing online accounts (e.g., email, social media) lack the basic skills. 8. Online shopping and managing payments lack the basic skills. 9. Accessing and using online banking services lack the basic...

I've just been introduced to WhatsApp Communities and I like the idea of creating a community to help to educate seniors on our rapidly developing Digital World.  I use WhatsApp all the time and find it very useful to keep in touch with my family who are scattered around the world. Last year we started two new pickleball groups and we set up a WhatsApp Group for each. We find out who is going to play via a Poll, we share YouTube videos to teach the players, and we set up social gatherings.  Lets find out more about WhatsApp Communities from Megs Hollis. My take is that the community is the overall umbrella and in our case this would be Digital Skills 4 Seniors . Groups are a good way to connect members, but almost always the chit chat drowns out the important announcements, polls and files. Members of a community can only communicate with the admin team, so they can ask questions and comment, but this doesn't appear in everyone's feed. In fact members cannot see or access o...

Loneliness and digital inexperience does make seniors vulnerable to falling a victim to catfishing.  What is catfishing  Catfishing scammers are individuals who create fake online profiles to deceive others, often for financial gain or emotional manipulation. The term "catfishing" comes from the documentary "Catfish," which highlighted the phenomenon. Here are some common tactics used by catfishing scammers: Creating fake identities: They use stolen photos and fabricated information to create believable profiles. Building trust: They use flattery, emotional manipulation, and exploit vulnerabilities to gain the victim's trust. Requesting money: They often ask for money under various pretenses, such as needing funds for medical bills, travel expenses, or other emergencies. Avoiding face-to-face contact: They may avoid video calls or in-person meetings, making excuses about why they can't meet. To protect yourself from catfishing scams, be cautious about sharin...

We use WhatsApp Groups all the time for Pickleball Groups and friends and family. Its end-to-end encrypted so seems like a safe option. If anything, particularly in bigger groups, I have tended to mute them to quieten the chatter. Quite often the important posts are hard to find if there has been a flurry of chatter. To the extent a friend and I have been looking at possibly using WhatsApp Communities as an alternative where members can't see or contact other members and only admin members can post to the group. This morning on a U3A Facebook group someone posted this message from Action Fraud. WhatsApp group chat members are being warned they could be targeted by criminals, as Action Fraud reveals it has received 636 reports from victims of the messaging app this year. The fraud often begins when a member of the group receives a WhatsApp audio call from the fraudster, pretending or claiming to be another member of the group. This is done to gain the individual’s trust, and often t...

  Our greatest fear, as fairly vulnerable seniors, is scammers. They are so crafty and are known to be using the full strength of AI in mastering their deception. Just before Christmas my daughter, who is super careful, got hacked as in ransom ware and bitcoin demands. With the help of IT friends she managed to save the day and after several sleepless nights and lots of password changing she finally could relax. Just before Christmas a friend bought a wonderful used set of Lego for a £5 on Facebook Marketplace. It was a scam, no Lego arrived and £1,000s of transactions had to be stopped. Fortunately they picked up on it quickly and were able to get the the scam dealt with by the bank. Scammers use several methods to get your money through Facebook scams:- Fake Websites : They create websites that look like legitimate retailers, like LEGO, and ask you to enter your payment details to make a purchase Phishing Links : Scammers send links via Facebook Messenger or posts that lead to fa...

Another way of looking at our Digital Journey, and this fits snugly with my mission in life as a Happiness Coach. We should teach people how to use apps that help them to live a happier more fulfilling life. When I was running my coaching business I developed a model for happiness. It was largely based on my research and my own experience of handling the sadness of my wife's death in 2017. The model below summarises the areas that I worked on and helped me to find happiness again. I think we should focus on learning how to use apps that in some way promote happiness. So for example I have a WhatsApp group that keep me in touch with my cousins across the world and I love it.  Another example of how an APP can bring you happiness. On New Years Eve I had a rasping problem with the disc breaks of my new MG car. The garage had shut early, so I used the AA app for the first time, reported my breakdown and 30 minutes later the lovely Craig arrived and sorted the problem out within ten min...

Amongst our group of friends by default I am their digital coach. They are almost all able to handle emails, WhatsApp and Apple messaging, FaceTime, read newspapers, take photos, play games and buy stuff online.  How would I assess their levels of skill? Here's a 5-level scale for digital skills for seniors, from Beginner to Expert, along with what you might expect at each stage: 1. Beginner Basic Computer Use: Turning the computer on/off, using a mouse and keyboard. Internet Navigation: Understanding how to open a web browser and navigate to a website. Email: Sending and receiving emails, recognising spam. iPhone:- Basic Navigation: Turning the iPhone on/off, unlocking the screen, understanding the home screen layout. Making Calls: Using the Phone app to make and receive calls. Messages: Sending and receiving text messages, recognizing notifications. 2. Novice Software Basics: Using word processing software like Microsoft Word for simple tasks. Social Media: Basic understanding of...

Accelerated by the pandemic, so much of getting things done in today’s world is via digital. Sadly, us senior citizens tend to fall behind in this brave new world. Our much-loved younger generation, although willing to help (sometimes), so often explain things far too fast for us to learn a new skill and we end up feeling like digital numpties!  This is a coaching programme aimed at helping seniors understand a vital but small part of the new digital world, but more importantly to help them to find greater happiness through learning in good company with lots of laughs. Skills will grow, friendships will blossom, and we will have fun together.   T he group will decide which skills they need, but here are a few areas that would make sense to learn. Enjoying the digital world as a senior can be greatly enhanced with a few essential skills. Here are some key areas to focus on: 1. Basic Computer and Internet Skills Navigating a computer : Understanding how to use a mouse, keyboar...