“The more anger in your voice, the more frustrated they will get. “If you are getting too frustrated, just let them know you have another call and that you’ll call them right back,” Kennedy advised. Listen first to them explain what they did, then clarify your instructions in a way that doesn’t make them feel dumb or attacked.Instead of telling them a command, such as click on “finder,” explain where that link is on their screen: “Finder is that square blue and gray box with a smiley face on it at the bottom of your screen.Give them an instruction, make sure they understand, and have them do that before you move on to the next step.Go with the most user-friendly app, not just what you are using.Kennedy helps many older adults remotely with their computer challenges. “Be patient, breathe easy and go slow,” advised Chris Kennedy, owner of AppleCore Technology. They can join virtual classes or events, have video lunch dates with friends or participate in an online book club or Bible study. You have the benefit of physically seeing how someone else is doing, and there is also the opportunity to share visually, maybe the quilt you’ve been working on or the cute little faces of grandchildren.Īnd once the technology is set up, it can be a daily resource for them. While it’s nice to call your family on the phone to check in, video chatting provides a deeper connection. But research also shows that video chatting can reduce the risk of depression in this population.” Why video chat? “Social isolation can be especially hard on the mental and physical health of older adults. “It is more important, now more than ever, to ensure physical-distancing and shelter-in-place orders for infection prevention don’t worsen social isolation for older adults in our families and in our communities,” said Peggy Budai, a nurse practitioner for UCHealth specializing in geriatric care. Work meetings, happy hours and classes are all taking place now via apps like Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts.īut there are still those who don’t know how to use video apps but would benefit from the interaction. With shelter-in-place and physical-distancing orders, many people have started to move even more of their lives onto their devices. Helping older adults with video calling is a great way to stave off loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic.
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