Case study: Peter’s story
Introducing Peter
Peter Greenfield has been volunteering on the Digital Brighton & Hove project since October 2016 on an ad hoc basis. With over 40 years’ experience working in IT in technical and management roles, Peter was keen to start doing some volunteering as he reached retirement. As a Volunteer Digital Champion, he assists older people using smartphones and tablets, while also providing occasional help with Windows or Apple Laptops or PCs.
He currently visits senior housing schemes approximately once a week to run ‘Digital Gadget Dropins’. During these drop-ins, residents can bring their own device and ask for help using them. From initial set up to support accessing the internet and downloading applications, Peter gets asked a whole range of questions on a range of different devices.
Communication rather than IT knowledge is key
Peter has found that since starting to volunteer as a Digital Champion, one of the main skills he has learnt is how to best communicate with older people. As Peter explains:
“I have found that since volunteering as a digital champion, communicating with elderly people is a new skill I have started to learn. I believe this is just as important if not more so than assisting with the technology. Often someone has a device and no one has taken the time to explain to them in simple terms how to access a browser or what the internet can be used for – e.g. borrowing e-books from the library, communicating to friends and family via Skype etc.”
Challenges for older people – online security
One of the main issues that Peter has encountered while volunteering as digital champion is underlining the importance on online safety.
“The question I am asked the most is ‘I have forgotten my user ID and/or password’ – what do I do now? Resolving this issue can take a while. Forgotten passwords procedures usually send a link to an email. And when the elderly person can’t remember their email and/or email password this can be challenging.”
While there are software solutions that can be used to help people remember their passwords, Peter has noticed that many older people have more trust in a pen and paper which can prove challenging when mislaid!