Everything Changes in Time..Nan Bosler
Nan Bosler is one of Australia's experts in the way that older Australians use digital communications and computers. Nan says “Older Australians are changing all the time. I think all age groups are, but this digital age, is really very attractive for a lot of older people. We can communicate in ways we never thought possible before, and if you can keep in touch with family and friends with things like Skype. That brand new great grandchild is not a letter three weeks after the child's born. You can actually be right there and part of the whole thing.”
Nan encourages older Australians to embrace digital technology. She says “I think it's really important that we can keep up with what's available for us. I know a lot of us are hesitant and I can understand that quite easily. We also like options. So we find something that suites us, we learn a little bit more about it. We realize we don't know much at all, and then we try and find a little bit of help. It might be through a seniors computer club with Australian Senior Computer Club Associations or a Broadband for Seniors kiosk. It's a fabulous government program running to provide free access to internet training for older Australians. There's a tech savvy program in NSW.
There are stacks of ways that you can have to get help. Not so sure about the youngsters though. Sometimes they're a little bit too quick, and they seem to understand it just intuitively. So, you know, if I were to say to a, to a grandchild, how do you do such and such? They'd say, oh, it's easy Nana, this, this, this, this, and the other”
Nan says her favorite device is her computer. She says “I like emails and I love searching the Internet. Research shows that about a quarter of Australians aged over 65 have a fixed line phone only, no mobile. Nan says we like our land lines but many seniors actually do have a mobile phone charged up at the bottom of their bag. We don't use it much. It's there in case we need it and we just don't tell anyone we've got one.
Nan says the seniors love affair with the fixed line telephone will change. “Everything changes in time, and that's for all age groups, not just older people. There are several of my grandchildren who don't have a landline anymore, they only have mobile devices. Find your local computer club at ascca.org.au