Patience is not the only virtue needed to teach them; the expert talks about other elements to obtain good results
You need to teach your grandfather, uncle or even an older neighbor how to use the Whatsapp? No matter the degree of intimacy with the person, this situation exposes strong cultural and age-related barriers.
Common sense repeats the advice: be patient. But is this really the only necessary virtue? No. Good communication, technique, listening and encouragement skills can influence the success – or otherwise – of the student’s teaching process.
We invited Luciana Allan, director of the Crescer Institute, to comment on the virtues that younger people should have to teach older people who want to use the messaging app. Check
The medium is the message
“Knowing how to communicate is one of the most important skills when it comes to teaching,” says Allan. Why use expressions “press“O”insect” when the person holding the cell phone doesn’t understand them? What if I said that by pressing both buttons at the same time you can take a photo of the screen? The sentence gets longer, but it simplifies.
Good interaction is an invitation to co-participation between student and teacher, Allan says, which facilitates understanding for both. “Communication is not just verbal, look the person in the eyes.”
Don’t be an “expert”
It seems controversial, but it isn’t. Seniors’ top requests are simple: texting, making voice and video calls, and accessing a utility or banking app, Allan says. But in some cases it is also worth teaching how to insert stickers, emojis and gifs into conversations.
In the Brazilian context, where in 2023, 66% of elderly people already had access to the Internet, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), it is likely that we are not speaking to an absolute layman. “It’s important not to place restrictions on the goals of the person being taught,” he says.
Encourage the other person
Celebrating your accomplishments is an important part of the process. When you decide to teach someone, you need to be prepared in advance to repeat instructions and deal with frustrations, but showing a little enthusiasm helps a lot. “Emotionally, recognizing progress increases self-esteem and creates commitment to move forward towards new challenges,” says Allan.
Contextualize
It is much easier to master technologies for those who have had contact with them in youth, due to the greater neuronal plasticity that exists in this stage of life”, he says. Furthermore, it is necessary to have the so-called “cultural adaptation”, which refers to values and beliefs that every person carries with them. Therefore, if the length of the audio is not a problem for him, let him continue like this.
If children themselves get angry when they are treated like children, why should an older person like it? “Always remember that you will teach him technology, but there are hundreds of other things he can teach you over the course of your relationship,” he replies.
Safety
The application is widely used by criminals. So that the next victim isn’t the one you teach, you need to take the time to explain how scams work and the best ways to protect yourself. “Show examples of people applying for loans posing as family members, of links advertising promotions or cash prizes,” he suggests.
The National Secretariat for the Rights of Older Persons has a booklet detailing some prevention measures that are worth taking a look at. “WhatsApp scams are classified as crimes of violence against property and, according to the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, 74.2 thousand crimes were committed by this team, almost half of which were against the elderly.”
Hands forward
Once you’ve learned the behavioral part, now it’s time to get to work. See below the main elements of the application that need to be taught.
- Know the layout
Locate the app’s main features, such as the search bar, camera, and icon for adding contacts. It’s better to say it step by step, for example: at the top right you will find the ‘little camera’ that takes photos and films, the + symbol to create a contact, start a new conversation or create a group.
At the bottom from left to right are the updates/statuses, i.e. texts, photos, videos, gifs and voice messages lasting 24 hours. You can also subscribe to news sites. The next functions are the ‘Calls’, the traditional audio ones, and also where it is possible to see the history.
In ‘Communities’ people are brought together in groups on specific topics, for example the group of condominiums or the fans of a football team. “Conversations” shows all the messages you have received or sent. In ‘Settings’ you edit your profile and activate privacy, security and archiving features.
- Main features
Within the conversation, by clicking on the contact’s photo, you access all the content sent or received by that person and you can customize its appearance and set privacy preferences. This is where you can block and report a contact.
In ‘Camerazinha’, clicking starts a video call, while in ‘Telefone’ it starts an audio call
At the bottom of the screen, on +, a series of options open up to choose photos, open the camera, send location, contact, document or make a payment. You can also create a poll, a utility often used in groups.
On the right side, a dollar sign will direct you to a screen where you can make payments, but this only works if the application is synced with a digital wallet (let’s leave this aside, the guide isn’t complicated anyway).
Then come the photo and audio message icons. Just press them and start talking, when you’re done, release them and the message will be sent.
- Identify scams
Criminals mainly act in three ways on WhatsApp, they understand how scams work and never fall for them:
- Phishing: To obtain personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, criminals pose as companies, friends or family members to trick the victim into providing this information or clicking on malicious links. Teach seniors that they should always be wary of messages requesting some type of financial resource, even if it appears to come from a financial institution.
- Social engineering: Criminals approach victims by posing as family members, claiming to have changed their number and asking, for example, for a Pix or WhatsApp confirmation code to clone the account. It is important to talk about the topic and make the elderly aware of messages like this.
- Spy apps: Secretly monitor users’ activities and track personal information such as calls, location, and even banking details. These applications are installed when criminals, via links, invade your device or you download an app outside of your mobile phone’s official stores. At this point, it is important to address the dangers of clicking on unknown links, even if the origin appears to be from a reliable source.
- Bonus tip
What to do if a relative falls for a WhatsApp scam? The first step is to file a police report online, especially if a money transfer has occurred, on your state’s Civil Police website. Then contact WhatsApp support, provide the telephone number with the international prefix, the email, the mobile operating system and detail what happened.
To be safe, delete suspicious applications or those that the elderly person did not download. You can check them in “Settings”.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
