The importance of using a smartphone for older people
Many years ago, my grandparents bought a mobile phone. It was simple, one of the old-fashioned ones. It didn’t even have a screen to play Space Invaders or the legendary Snake game. But at the time, it was the best on the market.
My grandmother continued to use that same mobile phone for eight years. Then we gave her a smartphone. She went from physical buttons to touchscreen. From a tiny screen on her mobile phone to a screen where ‘everything’ was. From pressing the green button to sliding the green button.
My uncles tried to explain to her in various ways how to use it. But every time someone called her, it was an ordeal. There were times when she wouldn’t even pick up the phone for fear of “breaking” something. What for the rest of us was part of our daily lives, and something indispensable, was of no value to her.
One day I sat down with her to help her learn how to use it. Her first words were, ‘Why do I want to learn this, son? It’s of no use to me.’ And that’s when I realised that it wasn’t a problem of difficulty. It was a problem of her not understanding the purpose of knowing how to use that technology.
I explained the things she could do with her mobile phone that were available to her. Simple but useful things.
- Take photos, videos, voice notes.
- Sending and receiving them.
- And being able to see someone she knew on the screen.
And that last one made her excited. Because she understood why we wanted her to use that technology: to “be” with her, even when we weren’t with her. That’s when she understood the value of the change, that’s when she understood what she would gain from the effort of learning, and the purpose of it all.
Today she sends me audio messages telling me about her day, videos of her recipes (there’s nothing like grandma’s cooking). But above all, she can see me, even though we are 3,000 km apart. And that’s what she values, because it makes her feel accompanied. This is the magic of technology: connecting people.
The value of transformation
This story I’ve shared with you shows us that transformation must be understood as a purpose, not as an exercise. It’s true that all change involves effort and a process that will add a certain amount of difficulty to our daily lives.
But when you have in mind what awaits you ‘on the other side’, you understand whether it’s worth all the effort it will take to get there. To do this, you have to raise awareness, either personally if it is just for you, or for a team of people who have to make that change a reality.
In work environments, these changes are not easy either. We get used to our daily routine, the same tools, the same problems. And this leads us to control the situation and settle into the comfort of our comfort zone.
Transformations must be explained so that people feel excited about ‘what is to come’ and feel that they cannot let this opportunity slip away. This requires social, communication and empathy skills. These are soft skills that are necessary today and that no AI can replace, as only people can have them.
Why transform yourself?
There is not one reason to transform yourself, there are many.
- For yourself.
- For those around you.
- To be better every day.
- To be more competitive in your business.
Because those who want to do the same thing, in the same way, in the same format, do not last.
Those who continuously transform themselves can choose to last. And there are those who last more than 100 years. They must be doing something right. They must be changing something to continue connecting with others.
Today, my grandmother continues to send me audio files, photos and videos with a naturalness that previously seemed impossible to her. Every time she does so, I remember that phrase of hers: ‘Why do I want to learn this?’
Now she herself gives me the answer: it brings her closer to her loved ones, makes her feel accompanied, and allows her to connect with old memories quickly and easily. Now she knows that she didn’t just swap one phone for another. She changed the way she communicates with the rest of us.