Online banking is becoming a necessity, with benefits such as keeping control of your finances from home or on holiday via a website or app.
If that’s not liberating enough, you can transfer money between accounts, send money to people you know, and set up or cancel direct debits and standing orders – all without visiting a branch.
Most banks give lessons to help, while Age UK has terrific advice on its website and offers computer classes. Here are a few of our essential tips:
Do set up your online banking carefully, download the correct app and follow your bank’s instructions to the letter.
Don’t share those details with anyone unless it’s an emergency or you completely trust them, such as a next of kin.
Do take some time to play with the app’s features and familiarise yourself with the layout.
Don’t mistake online banking for being unsafe. Most have the highest levels of digital security and log you out automatically after use.
Do look for ‘HTTPS’ before the website name in the address bar of your web browser. The ‘S’ stands for secure and means it is protected.
Don’t reuse the same passwords for different accounts.
Do be cautious with public computers. The one in your local library might not be secure, so check with staff.
Don’t share passwords or PIN numbers. Banks will never ask you for these in full. If they do, it’s fraudulent.
Do view your balance frequently to check for irregularities and raise any concerns immediately.
Technology is all around us. There is no escaping it these days. But the longer you avoid it, the worse your apprehensions will get. In my experience of working with people and techie things, I’ve found that fear of looking or feeling stupid is the main issue. People at a certain age begin to believe they are “dumb about technology” because they didn’t learn about it in school.
Let’s start with this supposition: nothing about using a phone, working on a computer, or a tablet is intuitive. Therefore, you need to learn basic skills to establish a foundation to use technology.
Trying something new is definitely scary. But, if you can release your fear, believe that we all start with zero knowledge, and build on that, you will develop the confidence needed to get through the bumps.
Here are some tips to help you start to feel comfortable with technology.
Start Small
You don’t need to learn everything at once. You can’t. Be patient with yourself. Break it down and focus on one thing at a time to help you gain confidence and make the world of technology feel more manageable.
Concentrate on one aspect of your phone, such as texting, that you need to use every day. Nowadays, if you don’t know how to text, you’ll be the odd person out of fun and frequent “chats” between friends and family. Once you accomplish that, pick the next app or most-used feature, like the phone app.
Frequently, the features you use the most, but don’t understand, cause frustration and resistance because that’s when you feel “dumb.” Stop the negative self-talk: “I can’t use this phone.” Instead, try, “I really need to learn how to use [insert feature of choice] so I can stop having these issues.”
Pick one new social media or online platform that interests you, like YouTube. YouTube is a great place to start with learning because you can get tutorials about anything you need once you are skilled in using it.
Focus on Fun
Start with things you are interested in. For example, if you are a movie buff, focus on using Netflix. If you love photography, put your efforts into learning how to use your phone’s camera. Directing your energy into things that are fun will make the learning process feel less like a chore.
Ask for Help
Remember, not everyone has the patience to teach you. Find a reliable family member or friend who will take the time to answer a specific question. Just 10 minutes of their time can alleviate a lot of frustration.
One of the keys to seeking help is to make sure you have a specific set of questions or problems. Don’t approach your loved one and say, “I need you to teach me how to use the computer.” It will be less daunting for you and your person of choice if you say, “I don’t understand folders and documents. Do you have time to show me a few things?”
If you don’t feel comfortable asking someone you know, find an expert in your area or virtually. Senior Centers, extension classes, local community centers are all good resources for learning. Many such places offer ongoing classes you can take or a once-a-month help session, one-to-one, for specific issues you are dealing with.
Trust Your Gut
Don’t be afraid to play around and learn as you go. You won’t break anything by touching an icon you are unfamiliar with. On the other hand, once you get over the mental block of thinking you don’t understand, you might be surprised by how much you can figure out on your own by just touching or clicking.
I often encourage my clients to “put their baby on.” Think about the two-year-old that grabs the parent’s phone and begins to tap and touch and take pics. They aren’t scared. They don’t have the verbal understanding we have, life experiences, or reasoning levels we do. But they aren’t afraid.
They react to the pictures, colors, icons, and cues given on the phone by touching, not freezing, or staring. They aren’t waiting for words to guide them.
Educate Yourself
Be proactive with reading booklets, articles, newsletters, or blogs. Watch video tutorials. Google your question. There is so much free content on the internet that spans all levels of knowledge. You also may want to consider paying for help. Buying lessons or enrolling in an actual class will pay dividends in the future.
Technology isn’t going anywhere. Giving in to your fears is going to put you in a deeper hole. Everything from your car, your oven, your phone is becoming a smart device. Being open to learning is the first step to getting comfortable with technology and using it in everyday life.
What is your biggest fear with technology? Have you overcome your fear? Do you have any tips to share on what worked for you?
Have you ever had a voicemail left on your phone in a foreign language? Word 365 has lots of amazing features and one of these is it’s dictate function. Simply open a blank Word document, go to the home screen and press Dictate. On the pop-up screen click on the settings icon and then on ‘spoken language’ to select the language. Now click the microphone on the pop-up and aim the speaker on your phone at Word and you will get a translation into English in text on the screen.
A mobile application, also referred to as a mobile app or simply an app, is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch.
The word “app” is an abbreviation for “application.” It’s a piece of software which comes pre-installed on your device or it’s software that you install yourself.
Apps typically run locally on your device, but can also run through a web browser. Apps can be found on your computer, your smartphone, tablet or other electronic devices, including smart TVs and smartwatches. Apps may or may not have a connection to the internet.
An app is a modern term for a software application, and it is most often used in reference to a mobile app or a small piece of software that runs on a website. Another word for application is program (although using the word program might make you sound dated).
Types of Apps
There are three main types of apps: desktop, mobile, and web.
Desktop apps are usually much fuller than mobile apps and consist of all the features of a program, whereas the mobile equivalent is a simpler and easier-to-use version.
This makes sense when you consider that most desktop and web apps are built to be used with a mouse and keyboard along with a large display, but mobile apps are intended to be accessed with a finger or stylus on a small screen.
Web apps might be full of features too, but they have to leverage the capabilities of the internet connection and web browser program, so while some are heavy-duty and can perform well like mobile or desktop programs, most web apps are lightweight for a reason.
If an app is a mix between a web app and a desktop app, it might be called a hybrid app. These are apps that have an offline desktop interface and direct access to hardware and other connected devices, but also an always-on connection to the internet for quick updates and access to internet resources.
Examples of Apps
Some apps exist in all three forms and are available as not only mobile apps but also desktop and web apps.
An example is Microsoft Word. It’s available for computers in its most advanced form but also on the web, by subscription, and via a mobile app.
Other examples are Zoom and Skype which can be used in a web browser or the app can be downloaded to a PC or a mobile.
Those three examples are of apps that exist in all three app forms, but that isn’t always the case.
For example, you can get to your Gmail messages through the official Gmail.com website and Gmail mobile app, but there isn’t a desktop program from Google that lets you access your mail. In this case, Gmail is both a mobile and web app but not a desktop app. You can add it or remove it as desired.
Others (often games) are similar in that there are both mobile and web versions of the same game but maybe not a desktop app, or there might be a desktop version of the game, but it’s not available on the web or as a mobile app.
Where to Get Apps
In the context of mobile apps, almost every platform has a repository where its users can download both free and paid apps. These are normally accessible through the device itself or a website so that the app can be queued up for download the next time the user is on the device.
For example, the Google Play Store and Amazon’s Amazon Appstore are two places where Android users can download mobile apps. iPhones, iPod Touch devices, and iPads can get apps through the Apple App Store straight from their devices.
Web apps load within a web browser and don’t need to be downloaded.
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