Helping Your Elderly Loved Ones Stay Connected Online

For many of us who are staying at home during this pandemic, the internet has become our main source of action and connection. In many states, lawyers can now create estate plans remotely from start to finish. Likewise, many doctors are now practicing telemedicine over the internet. Groceries, pharmaceuticals, clothing, all these, and more can be ordered through the internet, without setting foot out the door.

But these opportunities are only meaningful if everybody has a strong internet connection – and knows how to use it!

Elderly Online Presence

For our elders, this may not be easy. The inability to connect remotely with family and friends causes so many to feel even more isolated and lonely, due to the extreme quarantine measures, especially in nursing homes. Unless a person has at least some internet service available, and the skills to know how to use it, this epidemic imposes barriers to quality of life, banking, health care, social networks, government services, and education. And the effects of this virus are likely to be felt into the future as the “new normal,”, especially for the most vulnerable among us.

It’s for those reasons that the internet is increasingly recognized as a vital infrastructure.

For those who remember the days before the internet, though, there can be numerous obstacles to becoming internet-enabled and savvy. Nevertheless, solutions are available. The key is to get creative.

Senior Connection Opportunities

Young family members might love being asked to help an elder learn internet ways and means. Or, here is a collection of some online tutorial sources:

https://www.thoughtco.com/online-computer-classes-1098078

https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/subjects/technology/

Here is a downloadable educational booklet from the British Broadcasting Company. It has important information on computer security.

https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/connect/BBC_First_Click_Beginners_Guide.pdf

Or, the organization Senior Planet is there to “harness technology to change the way we age.” Their programs “help seniors learn new skills, save money, get in shape, and make new friends.” Most courses are free and help seniors learn a wide variety of computer basics, digital photography, social media, online job searches, even how to make a website.

For assistance and planning for the care of your aging loved one, contact our Willowbrook, IL office at 630-789-5896.