In the digital age, mobile phones have become a essential tool to stay connected with friends and family, as well as to access a wide variety of information and services. However, for some people, especially the elderly, using a smartphone can be intimidating and confusing.
That is why for this article we have gathered the best tricks that you can teach your grandparents to learn how to better use your device. There are certain options that you must know yes or yes to stay communicated effectively and we have focused on basic notions that are very helpful and that, in addition, do not imply a great complication, since it is understandable that some more difficult processes of the account they can be tedious.
Your grandparents must know this about their cell phones
Mobile phones have evolved a lot during the last decade and this has caused them to become something difficult to control for older people. Luckily, as a grandson or another relative, you can explain these basic notions that it would be interesting to know.
Turn the phone on and off
Before you start teaching them anything else, it’s important to make sure your grandparents know how to turn their phone on and off. Often this involves hold down the power button. This can be very helpful when it comes to solving certain technical problems of the device. Also, you need to make sure they know how to lock the screen to save battery life and prevent the phone from turning on accidentally.
make and receive calls
Talking on the mobile is a basic skill that all users should know. To teach your grandparents to make and receive calls, you first need to make sure they know how to access their contact list. Then, explain to them how to make a call from the contact list or how to manually dial a number. It would also be important to tell them how to answer and end a call or how to adjust the volume.
use the camera
Thanks to the camera that all smartphones equip today, it is possible to obtain photos of special moments or memories. If you want to teach your grandparents to use the camera on their mobile phone, it is as simple as opening the camera application and tapping on the button the shutter, that is, the large circle that appears at the bottom of the screen. You can also tell him that he can touch a point on the image to focus on a specific element.
Create and manage contacts
Having a previously saved contact list is important so you don’t have to manually dial each person’s numbers. Show your grandparents how to add new contacts and how to edit or delete existing contacts to keep everything under control. For the first thing, you just have to open the Contacts app and touch on the “Create new contact” option to fill in the corresponding parameters, as well as add a contact photo; while for the other two functions you have to hold down on the contact in question and then click on edit or delete.
Surfing the Internet
Another important skill that you can teach your grandparents to improve their use of the mobile is how to navigate the Internet. This can open up a world of possibilities for them to access useful information and entertainment online. To begin with, you have to teach them how to open the browser on their mobile phone, usually Chrome, and how to search for information using a search engine like Google, that is, tap on the top search bar and write what they want to know or search for.