One of the disadvantages of the modern lifestyle is the lack of time or the opportunity to be with our dearest ones. The elderly are the first ones to experience loneliness and social media is an excellent tool to make them feel closer to their family and friends. They want to see photos uploaded by friends and family members on Facebook, Instagram, Viber etc, or even talk to their family via Skype, WhatsApp, Viber or Messenger and of course, they can always be given the opportunity to communicate or to make an appointment with private doctors.
The social media apps would help them communicate instantly with anyone.
This improvement and direct contact with people regardless of city and country can be a very powerful motivation.
The truth is that everyone wants to understand and be able to use the electronic devices to connect live to the network and feel they can also keep track of the developments.
These are strong incentives for the elderly to learn on how to use their electronic devices and participate in the social media but finding motivation among the elderly could depend also on their background and age group. Their IT knowledge, interests, hobbies, activities, etc, could be different and having homogeneous groups in classrooms would be ideal.
Researchers have demonstrated that older people tend to use email or social media within a restricted circle of two different social groups: relatives (a few emails a month, but which are detailed and emotional) and close friends (more frequent and exchanging information based on their social life). “They use email to communicate with their social circles; they don’t use it as a means of establishing relationships with people they don’t know. For this, they have other more down to earth strategies in their lives such as going to a social centre to a dance, and meeting people there,” research confirm.
Nevertheless exposure on social media has its risks and the elderly are not more or less vulnerable than anyone else but as with anyone else they should be aware not to disclose their whereabouts online or other sensitive information that can be used or taken advantage of by malicious people.
Logging out from the unsecure devices they may use is essential in order to avoid problems.
Activity 4.2.1: Suggestions on what to teach on social media and communication
Objectives: Explain to the trainers our suggestions and listen to theirs. Work with the content by taking into account the characteristics of our future students.
Duration: 30 minutes
IT Trainers group size: 10 maximum
Contents:
- Present different social networks that can be used.
- Work with the social networks that seniors find useful.
- Make them aware of the dangers of Social media websites.
Seniors Group size: 6 maximum, ideally 4.
Equipment: Internet access, cannon, computers / tablets / smartphones, whiteboard, sheets of paper, writing utensils, Moodle platform or other, notes with the module information, comfortable chairs and tables.
Objectives: Explain to the trainers our suggestions and listen to theirs. Work with the content by taking into account the characteristics of our future students.
Duration: 30 minutes
IT Trainers group size: 10 maximum
Contents:
- Present different social networks that can be used.
- Work with the social networks that seniors find useful.
- Make them aware of the dangers of Social media websites.
Seniors Group size: 6 maximum, ideally 4.
Equipment: Internet access, cannon, computers / tablets / smartphones, whiteboard, sheets of paper, writing utensils, Moodle platform or other, notes with the module information, comfortable chairs and tables.
Activity 4.2.2 WhatsApp
Objective: Explain to the trainers our suggestions and listen to theirs. Work with the content by taking into account the characteristics of our future students.
Duration: 60 minutes
IT Trainers group size: 10 maximum
Instructions for the trainer:
The teacher, relying on instructions seen through a projector connected to a computer and with a Smartphone / Tablet, will explain step by step how to download the WhatsApp application and how to use it to:
- Download the app.
- Send / receive written messages.
- Send / receive voice messages.
- Send / receive photos and videos.
- Create a WhatsApp group.
- Make individual / group video calls.
Students will practice all the options described in class, repeating them more than once until their understanding is assured. It will also be practiced throughout the week until the next class through the group created in class to consolidate the knowledge acquired.
An introduction should be made on how to open WhatsApp accounts and what they should take into account during this process. You should tell them that it is important to set passwords that only they will know and that it will not be easy to be “hacked” by malicious software (for example, 123456789 or dates of birth). If they can’t easily remember the codes, it’s good to write them down somewhere where they can only see them. In addition, it is not necessary to post personal information that is optional (for example, mobile phone number).
The privacy policy of the websites and how they can check the security settings of their WhatsApp account at any time will be explained.
Creating an account is a step that can be difficult for older people. The reason is that they have to fill in a large amount of data all together and upload photos from their computer files. By creating your account on each network together with the trainer, the first and most important step will be taken to become familiar with the networks. It is important that at each step of the process older people understand what is happening and why.
Lastly, they must learn to log out and log in from other computers and devices to their accounts.
Participants will be helped to find their contacts with WhatsApp, as well as to exchange the first messages and even to make video calls.
Seniors Group size: 6 maximum, ideally 4.
Equipment: Internet access, cannon, computers / tablets / smartphones, whiteboard, sheets of paper, writing utensils, Moodle platform or other, notes with the module information, comfortable chairs and tables.
Activity 4.2.3 Facebook
Objective: Explain to the trainers our suggestions and listen to theirs. Work with the content by taking into account the characteristics of our future students.
Duration: 60 minutes
IT Trainers group size: 10 maximum
Instructions for the trainer:
The teacher, relying on instructions seen through a projector connected to a computer and with a Smartphone / Tablet / computer, will explain step by step how to download the Facebook application and how to use it to:
- Create an account on Facebook and understand the implications of the degree of privacy of the account.
- Find and follow friends or pages of interest on Facebook.
- Posting messages on Facebook and commenting on third-party publications.
- Use Facebook chat.
Students will practice all the options described in class, repeating them more than once until their understanding is assured. It will also be practiced throughout the week until the next class using the accounts created in class to consolidate the knowledge acquired.
An introduction should be made on how to open accounts on Facebook and what they should keep in mind during this process. You should tell them that it is important to set passwords that only they will know and that it will not be easy to be “hacked” by malicious software (for example, 123456789 or dates of birth). If they can’t easily remember the codes, it’s good to write them down somewhere where they can only see them. In addition, it is not necessary to post personal information that is optional (for example, mobile phone number).
The privacy policy of the websites and how they can check the security settings of their Facebook account at any time will be explained.
Creating an account is a step that can be difficult for older people. The reason is that they have to fill in a large amount of data all together and upload photos from their computer files. By creating your account on each network together with the trainer, the first and most important step will be taken to become familiar with the networks. It is important that at each step of the process older people understand what is happening and why.
Lastly, they must learn to log out and log in from other computers and devices to their accounts.
Seniors Group size: 6 maximum, ideally 4
Equipment: Internet access, cannon, computers / tablets / smartphones, whiteboard, sheets of paper, writing utensils, Moodle platform or other, notes with the module information, comfortable chairs and tables.
