Helping Seniors with Technology: Tips, Tools, and Resources

Effective Technology Tips for Seniors

To help seniors with technology, it’s important to understand their needs and build trust. Use the technology tips for seniors below to help them embrace technology on a daily basis.

Make Tech Meaningful

Start by explaining why technology matters for the elderly. In 2024, an AARP survey on older adult tech usage found that nearly two-thirds of older adults 50+ say technology enriches their lives by making daily life and aging easier.

After learning the “why,” they might be more motivated to learn the “how.” Try giving examples of why certain tools matter. For instance, video calls allow loved ones to stay connected with one another in real time and photo-sharing apps help keep family memories close—despite the distance.

Be Patient and Positive

While technology might come easy to some younger generations, it may not for those who’ve lived most of their lives without it. It’s crucial to remember that learning something new takes time. Try breaking tasks into small steps, repeating instructions as needed, keeping a calm tone, and celebrating progress—even if it’s small. Encouragement goes a long way toward building confidence.

Simplify the Process

Not everyone learns the same way, so think about the senior loved one in your life and what they respond best to. Here are some general tips for helping elderly with technology:

• Avoid jargon and use clear, easy-to-follow language
• Print guides with large text or visual step-by-step instructions
• Focus on one skill at a time instead of introducing many at once

Practice Online Safety

Teach seniors how to be safe online to avoid scams like fraud and phishing with the following tips:

• Use strong passwords. Advise them not to reuse passwords and to use a combination or numbers, symbols, uppercase letters, and lowercase letters. Avoid common sequences like “12345” or “ABCDE,” and instead pick something that might be easier for them to remember, but hard for someone else to guess.
• Manage contacts. Teach them how to add people and businesses they regularly communicate with to their contacts. This can help them avoid clicking on random email addresses that might be spam.
• Set up two-factor authentication. Explain how this security step requires two different verification methods to access an account to help prevent unauthorized access. Then, set up a method that will work for them. For instance, a password plus biometric data like facial recognition or fingerprint.
• Avoid sharing personal information online. Make sure to teach them not to post anything personal online including information on identity, finances, and location. This means Social Security numbers, bank numbers, credit card details, passwords, mother’s maiden name, full birthdates, home addresses, phone numbers, and their location. If posting pictures on vacation, tell them to wait to share until after the event to help prevent burglaries.
• Protect privacy. Help set their accounts to limit posts to “Friends Only” and teach them to avoid accepting requests from strangers. Also, make sure they know to always log out of their accounts, especially on shared or public devices.
• Be aware of scams. The key rule here is Stop. Think. Verify. Teach them that before they do anything to stop and take a second. Don’t immediately react to urgent requests like calls, texts, or emails. First, think and try to assess the situation. They should ask themselves if it makes sense and look for red flags like poor grammar or unusual payment methods. Lastly, verify the legitimacy of the request by checking the number and email address or hovering over links.

Encourage Regular Technology Use

Consistent technology use for seniors builds familiarity. Schedule short practice sessions or incorporate tech into their daily routines. For example, check the weather using a smart speaker or send a quick message to the family group chat.

Use Accessible Features

If reading copy on a website is difficult for your senior loved one due to varying font sizes, text animations, or distracting colors and images, consider turning on accessibility features. Many browsers and devices have settings you can turn on—like cursor settings, screen readers, live captions, zoom features, and color correction—to make online browsing easier for people with disabilities or difficulty hearing or reading.

Additionally, most business sites are required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so they’re often built with ADA principles in mind. On some websites, this might mean looking for the accessibility icon, which usually lives at the top or bottom of the screen.

Be sure to teach your loved one how to use these features to make their online browsing experience more seamless.

Best Tech for Seniors: Devices and Tools

When choosing devices for seniors, focus on simplicity, accessibility, and safety. The options below highlight the best tech for seniors based on use and everyday value.

Simplified Smartphones and Tablets

Nowadays, you can turn on settings to simplify the most popular phones and tablets on the market like the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or iPad. These devices are designed with accessibility features you can turn on to streamline and enlarge the screen, allowing seniors to access the most important apps with ease.

Or, you can look for specific senior-friendly tech devices, designed for ease of use with simple navigation, like Lively’s Jitterbug Flip2, Jitterbug Smart4, or the GrandPad.

Smart Home Devices

There are many devices that make daily life easier, including smart light bulbs, plugs, humidifiers, and more. Almost all of them can be set up to be controlled by a voice-activated smart speaker like Amazon devices with Alexa or Google Nest.

Wearable Health and Safety Devices

Staying safe and healthy is often top of mind as we age and luckily technology has advanced to help us. Seniors can now buy wearable health-tracking and safety devices like smartwatches, smart rings, fitness bands, and GPS-tracking or medical alert necklaces.

Depending on the device, wearable health trackers can now track heart rate, blood oxygen, daily steps, sleep, calories, and stress levels. Wearable medical alert and GPS-tracking devices can help detect falls, alert chosen family members when a senior loved one leaves their home, and call authorities during an emergency to help prevent dangerous situations.

Easy-to-Use Video Calling Platforms

There are many video calling platforms to help seniors stay virtually connected. To find the best fit for your senior loved one, consider testing a few. They may find it easier to use FaceTime if they have an iPhone or iPad. However, they may prefer Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp if they use those more often day to day.

Furthermore, if your loved one likes to use their laptop or a different tablet regularly, you might find that they’re more comfortable with the Zoom interface—especially if they learned to use it during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tech Support for Seniors: Top Resources

Tech support is just a click, call, or visit away for seniors. Explore these helpful resources to find the best tech support for seniors.

Free Tech Support for Seniors

See how these non-profits and local organizations offer free support to empower seniors to use technology:

• Cyber-Seniors provide free tech support for seniors via phone and it’s run by tech-savvy student volunteers. You can directly call their toll-free line or schedule a consultation. They also offer free online guides and programs in some communities.
• Senior Planet from AARP also offers personalized tech help and online classes for seniors to help them become more comfortable using tech on the daily.
• Local libraries or senior centers sometimes host tech support classes for seniors to teach them how to stay up to date on the latest technology.

Paid Tech Support for Seniors

If you need more personalized help with certain devices or platforms, these paid options may be better:

• Geek Squad at Best Buy offers tech support online at any time or you can find a Best Buy near you to get expert tech support in-person. They can answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and help with repairs at a cost—even if you didn’t buy the device from them.
• Candoo Tech offers personalized tech coaching for older adults. This virtual platform offers one-hour online sessions or an online membership to help seniors with any tech questions or issues they have.

Best Uses of Technology for Seniors

There are several benefits of technology for seniors, including the ones listed below.

Connecting with Loved Ones

With busy schedules and different time zones, video calls may not be enough to feel close to loved ones you don’t see every day. However, it’s important to stay connected. In fact, research shows technology use helps promote social engagement, which in turn can lead to improved physical and mental health.

To stay connected, seniors can practice using their phone to take and share photos and videos—whether it’s via text or social media. They can also learn to share their favorite articles, websites, or apps online as another form of virtual connection.

Staying Entertained and Engaged

There are endless ways to entertain yourself online. Seniors can stream videos, watch TV shows, listen to audiobooks, read articles, or play games.

For seniors who love to keep their brains active with puzzle games like crosswords, Sudoku, or word searches, there are several online platforms where they can find fun variations to challenge themselves.

Managing Daily Tasks

Getting comfortable with tech can also make it easier for seniors to pay their bills online by setting autopay, keep track of schedules with digital calendars, and set reminders for daily responsibilities and essentials like taking medications.

It can also help them manage their home. For instance, smart bulbs can be set to turn on and off on a schedule or a robotic vacuum can be set to clean the floors.

Prioritizing Health and Wellness

Of course, monitoring devices help you track your day-to-day health, but you can utilize tech for even more. Some insurance companies offer telehealth services, which make it possible to talk to your medical care team from home via video call. It’s ideal when you need to see your doctor quickly for conditions like colds, rashes, diabetes, and mental health concerns.

As technology continues to make health and wellness more accessible, the real difference comes from having trusted partners that utilize technology to support seniors’ well-being. At Sunrise Senior Living, we integrate technology into daily measures to help provide quality care to residents.

Our team uses tableside dining technology to help ensure meals are tailored to each resident’s personalized dietary preferences, allergies, and more. Some of our communities also offer online MasterClass courses, giving residents opportunities to master new skills, which may include technology. Furthermore, we use a family engagement app to keep family members connected to their senior loved ones.

To learn more about how Sunrise utilizes tech to support seniors’ overall well-being or about senior living in general, find a Sunrise Senior Living community near you. Our team members are happy to answer any questions you may have.