Elderly & Computers

[BrandonH]

This subject is kinda out there, but I'm hoping at least some of you have experience or input with this. My 88 year old Grandmother has expressed interest in getting a computer for a while now, but never seemed real serious about it. Yesterday she told me to find her what she needs and get it setup, so being the good grandson I told her I will see what I can do. To begin with she has ZERO experience with computers and the most advanced device she currently owns is either her flip phone or the "I've fallen and can't get up" button She worked 30 years at a bank and retired over 25 years ago, so you can imagine the type of computers she worked on when she mentions it.

Top reasons for wanting one:

*To receive or send pics with us (text app or email would work here)

*It scares me to think about it, but she will probably "try" to Facebook since she does have friends and family on there.

*Online shopping (she's old school and still buys from catalogs since she lives alone and is in a wheel chair).

*She's very active with yardwork as well as sewing/quilting. I can see her utilizing the internet to gain ideas and assist with her hobbies.

I'm sure she could find other uses, but these are the main ones I can think of. We live over an hour away and with her living alone she needs something very dependable. If something goes wrong or crashes I need to be able to walk her through it over the phone.

I'm debating what would be the best options to fit her needs. At first we discussed laptops, but then I thought maybe a large tablet would be better suited. Definitley not a desktop since I'd like her to be able to take it to the kitchen table if needed then back to her sewing room without much issue. Any suggestions on what the best route may be? Laptop? Tablet? Something with a keyboard like a Surface? I'm open to any ideas.

Thanks,
Brandon

[TallTexan]

I would get her an IPad

[MQ32Shooter]

I would get her an IPad

Yep, this is what I did for my 96 year old mother. All she does is play Solitaire on it, but she's happy.

[bobc]

IPad is what I got my mother. Easy for her to use, and she can FaceTime with her out-of-state grandkids.

[tbgascorer]

Yep, Ipad.

[JTeLarkin08]

Yep Grandmas Love ipads. I always see older people carrying them around and taking pics and videos on them. Makes me laugh

[Kmart49]

Definitely an iPad

[Deer Tracks]

My mom was never very tech savy but she can do tablets. If your grandmother would rather type on a traditional keyboard, you can always get her one of those 2 in 1 laptops.

[tbgascorer]

Can you imagine the viruses old folks would get with normal PC's? They'd be clicking on everything and then BAM, down with malware and spyware.

[crawdaddct]

I don't like apple products, but an iPad may be your best bet. They are easy to use and pretty strait forward. With what you listed, she can do all that. Its only when you get into certain web based programs, that apple and android fall short.

[Matt_C]

Go with an apple product. The elderly seem to understand and work them far better than a pc based on my experience.

[BrandonH]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I absolutely hate Apple products, but according to y'all I may have to stray just this one time.

[Ruark]

Can you imagine the viruses old folks would get with normal PC's? They'd be clicking on everything and then BAM, down with malware and spyware.

Oh, yeah. It's really sad how difficult this crap makes it for older people. I remember when my mother would call me in a panic (I'd be at work) about how she'd suddenly gotten this message saying there was a virus on her computer, and to "click here to clean it." Or she'd get a screen takeover (when the whole screen turns black, then an ad pops up) and think her computer was broken - she never could remember to look for the "X" to close it - and again, call me in a panic.

Or I'd tell her to click on something and she'd get all hung up on which mouse button to use, or whether or not to hold the button down, or wait until the computer responded, etc.

But it's a real shame that so many of the wonderful things computers bring us aren't available to older people. I have an aunt, for example, 94 years old, who lives alone in a nursing home. She would love to keep in touch with everybody, but even the simplest email systems are just over her head. I wish some programmer would write a REALLY REALLY simple email system just for people like her.

Maybe the tablets are better, but be sure she can see well enough to use that small monitor.

Sorry, this is sort of a raw nerve issue for me.

[CRM_95]

I would get her an IPad

This is what we did for my Mom. She's in her mid 70's. She got the hang of it pretty quick, and now she relentlessly Facebook stalks me.

[texan4ut]

I have an Ipad and use it all the time. That being said a Samsung tablet will do the same things it just has the Android OS instead of the Apple OS. I don't know what phone service provider she or you have but with an upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy S whatever most are giving you a free tablet.