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I love my I am a 78-year-old mother and I do everything I can to help her. But when she has computer problems, she gets frustrated and starts lashing out at the technology, and I want nothing to do with her. The independent woman who taught me to be resourceful by sending me to the dictionary now wants her results the easy way (so I can fix them in seconds), while I see an opportunity to teach her to help herself. As a result, we end up fighting.
We are not alone. According to The Pew Research CenterThere are currently 62 million adults age 65 or older in the United States. That number is expected to reach 84 million (and jump from 18 percent to 23 percent of the population) by 2054. That means a lot of seniors and a lot of tech support.
“Sometimes learning from people who aren’t family members works better, because we tend to be more patient with other people,” says Skye N. Leedahl, a professor of human development and family science at the University of Rhode Island. Leedahl conducts research as a senior researcher at the university that focuses on quality of life and health issues in older adults. The university has its own technical support program, a collaboration with a North American nonprofit technical support organization known as Cyber-elderly.
And that’s not the only organization of its kind. Tom Kamber, CEO of Technology services for older adults (OATS) and the Major Planet AARP’s education program says in an email: “Older adults are increasingly using technology to learn about healthy living and medical issues, finances and career skills (some are still working), and simply to stay mentally sharp.”
Kamber and a group of volunteers launched OATS in 2004 to promote digital literacy among our older peers. They do this through their Senior Planet program (more on that below), as well as their advocacy and scholarship work. OATS.org offers a look at the organization’s 20-year history, its outreach and connectivity programs, and its online community portal/social network. The website also has an interactive search engine that allows you to enter your zip code to find a Senior Planet partner site near you.
And those are just the industry websites. The good news is that there are a lot of options out there, some of them even free. The tech support sites listed below are specifically geared toward seniors.
Having other technological options will certainly help my mother and me. Having a neutral third party to resolve her technical issues means I won’t have to resent the pressure of being the resident “tech guru,” and she won’t have to resent my attempts to train her. It should free me up to focus on appreciating the time we spend together. I hope it does the same for you and the older people in your life.
AARP Senior Planet
Created in 2015, the beginner-friendly website Senior Planet Website The organization features a cohesive compendium of free online content—articles, courses, lectures, demo videos, and workshops geared toward our seniors (in English, Spanish, and Cantonese). Offerings range from learning how to use a smartphone to virtual exercise classes and in-person meetings. The premier destination for seniors served more than half a million people last year and shows no signs of slowing down—they even have their own podcast. The organization began with one in-person location in New York City and now has satellite locations in North Country, New York; Montgomery County, Maryland; Denver; San Antonio; and Miami. One-on-one virtual training, via Zoom, is also available.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Email info@seniorplanet.org or call (888) 713-3495.
Cyber-elderly
Cyber-elderly It was inspired by a 2014 documentary which followed a community of Canadian seniors learning to use the Internet for the first time. The North American organization (which operates in Canada and the U.S.) offers free one-on-one training and technical support by pairing seniors with student volunteers for an intergenerational experience from which both parties learn. Volunteers speak English, Spanish, and French. The site features a newsletter, a weekly calendar of events, a webinar, free technical support, training for volunteers and seniors, merchandise, clips from the film, and a section dedicated to cybersecurity protection. The organization has North American partners across two-thirds of the continent that have Cyber-Seniors programs (the University of Rhode Island is one of them).
Office hours are 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Eastern Time. Please email scheduling@cyberseniors.org or call (844) 217-3057.
Quincy
Quincy It was founded by Ryan Greene while he was a student at Columbia Business School in 2020 to help his grandfather and other older adults in his life who were having tech issues. Remote tech support sessions take place over secure connections and are recorded, in case you want to revisit them in the future. Quincy also offers fraud protection—a tech support team scans your emails, texts, voicemails, and social media for scammers. There’s even a blog with posts geared toward non-tech-savvy people. Plans start at $5/month, and the company also offers 14 minutes per month of free support to Medicare beneficiaries.
Hours of operation are 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Please message Quincy staff via the chat support feature on the website or call (208) 557-8466.
Candoo
CEO and creator Liz Hamburg created Candoo in 2019, after having “experienced firsthand the frustration my parents have felt dealing with technology.” Plans for personalized support from a technology concierge consist of a single one-hour session ($75) or an annual membership ($228/year for singles, $340/year for couples). Support and training are also available in English and Spanish at the business membership level for senior centers, nursing homes, and other care facilities. Memberships also include a free instruction library, video conferencing tools, online shopping guides, and a downloadable tablet comparison sheet.
Support hours are 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM (US Eastern Time). Please email support@candootech.com or call (646) 758-6606.
The smartest service
Founded by business partners Terry Dry and Greg Boles as “a personalized technology concierge service for older adults,” Smarter service Smarter Service offers its customers personalized, one-on-one technical support based on the complexity of their digital needs. Customers are assigned the same concierge each time they use the service. In-person training is available in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California; Scenic and Scottsdale, Arizona; and Columbus and Indianapolis, Indiana. Support is also available for senior centers, nursing homes, and other retirement communities. Smarter Service offers free consultations to help you choose a plan. Annual memberships start at $125 per month, but other customized packages are available.
Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 9am to 5pm (Pacific Time). Please email info@thesmarterservice.com or call (805) 765-8348.
