On Saturday, Nanjappa M. operated a smartphone for the first time in his life. So far, the 72-year-old has relied on landlines and older avatars of mobile phones that didn’t support apps or high-speed Internet. His emotions range from bewilderment to amazement when he is shown how to set up an email account on a smartphone.
Nanjappa was one of 40 senior citizens who attended the Nightingales Empowerment Foundation’s weekly smartphone training programme to help people become comfortable with new technology. Sessions are held every Saturday at different centres.
A few rows behind him are two women who have many queries: How do you get a keypad on the phone? How do you send a message? Can they create a WhatsApp account?
In the session, citizens learn how to add contacts, create a email account and make calls to their loved ones. With an increasing number of senior citizens living on their own, the ability to navigate a smartphone will not only help them keep in touch with their loved ones, but also make them aware of scams.
Komal Singh, project head, said, “Most non-pensioners find it very difficult to meet their daily needs. With this mind, Nightingales Medical Trust began the Nightingales Jobs 60 Plus programme to train senior citizens to get basic jobs. We realised that most of them lacked certain technical skills. Thus, we began computer training classes for them and soon branched into smartphone training.”
The project sees as many as 120 participants across all four centres in Bengaluru every week, she added.
B. Sridharan, 79, a retired serviceman (Defence Engineering Systems) attended the class along with his brother and sister. “This is the first time I am using a smartphone. When I heard about this programme, I thought it might be a good idea to come and learn with people of my age group.”
Vimala P.B., a retired employee of the Postal Department, said, “Everybody has a smartphone these days. Applications such as WhatsApp, email and Facebook have become a necessity. Knowing about them and using them is very important. Classes like these help us learn at our own pace.”
