How to Help Older Computer Users

Providing computer help for older friends or someone in your family can be a challenge. The biggest issue is that older people may not have the knowledge base you have or may not want to learn all of the tricks you think they would benefit from. I find it best to have them give me a basic and common task they want to do frequently and then simplify the steps. Sometimes, teaching them the power of the right button on the mouse to bring up that little contextual menu often lets them find the command for what they want to do. And let them repeat what you are showing them. I find that I often have to say, “I won’t say a thing unless you directly ask me what to do.” If they want to write down all the steps, let them, and then ask them to go through them so they can clarify and amplify those parts that seem to trip them up.

Might it be time to clean up your bookmarks? Delete the old and dead ones with AM-DeadLink (aignes.com/deadlink.htm). Then consider putting the more frequently used one in your browser’s bookmark bar. When this option is turned on, your most used bookmarks will be located just below the URL field. You can organize your bookmarks, and even tag them if your browser offers that option, so you can more easily find them in the future. Or embrace Google and search for all that you want when you want it, never worry about bookmarking again.

A sudden change to the free Dropbox account has limited the number of devices you can sync to three. To avoid paying for the commercial accounts, you should know that you can’t add any new devices. (Dropbox is not yet penalizing you if you already have more than three linked devices). If you add a new device, you will have to delink other devices (if you have three). It is not difficult. For help, visit help.dropbox.com/mobile/unlink-relink-computer-mobile.

Ethical.net can provide you with alternatives to many online services and apps that you might feel are too large or too costly. By no means is it exhaustive but you can get an idea of some of the alternatives available.

Providing computer help for older friends or someone in your family can be a challenge. The biggest issue is that older people may not have the knowledge base you have or may not want to learn all of the tricks you think they would benefit from. I find it best to have them give me a basic and common task they want to do frequently and then simplify the steps. Sometimes, teaching them the power of the right button on the mouse to bring up that little contextual menu often lets them find the command for what they want to do. And let them repeat what you are showing them. I find that I often have to say, “I won’t say a thing unless you directly ask me what to do.” If they want to write down all the steps, let them, and then ask them to go through them so they can clarify and amplify those parts that seem to trip them up.

Might it be time to clean up your bookmarks? Delete the old and dead ones with AM-DeadLink (aignes.com/deadlink.htm). Then consider putting the more frequently used one in your browser’s bookmark bar. When this option is turned on, your most used bookmarks will be located just below the URL field. You can organize your bookmarks, and even tag them if your browser offers that option, so you can more easily find them in the future. Or embrace Google and search for all that you want when you want it, never worry about bookmarking again.

A sudden change to the free Dropbox account has limited the number of devices you can sync to three. To avoid paying for the commercial accounts, you should know that you can’t add any new devices. (Dropbox is not yet penalizing you if you already have more than three linked devices). If you add a new device, you will have to delink other devices (if you have three). It is not difficult. For help, visit help.dropbox.com/mobile/unlink-relink-computer-mobile.

Ethical.net can provide you with alternatives to many online services and apps that you might feel are too large or too costly. By no means is it exhaustive but you can get an idea of some of the alternatives available.

Just as you might put tape over your laptop’s camera, think of covering the PIN pad at your bank or when using your debit card at any checkout place. I am amazed at how many places don’t have something to help me hide what I am keying in, so I have learned to use my other hand to hide when I type in my PIN.