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Yes, tech is not going away of course , and is just about impossible to function without it . I’m glad there is help out there for seniors .

My MIL was just about functioning without it , but eventually that would not work anymore .

It is a transition period, where the level of proficiency varies a lot . I feel fortunate that we only dealt with one nightmare of a senior not leaving passwords etc . The others did not use computers .

Hopefully this becomes easier for the next generation to have to deal with what we leave behind . But with cognitive decline , we could still leave a mess .

It is difficult and intimidating for many very elderly seniors to learn some of these things , so they give up after trying. Both my parents tried 15 years ago in their 80’s and gave up . I think we need to give alittle more consideration , that it’s not that they are all purely resistant .
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Reply to waytomisery
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Totally agree, Geaton. My over-55 community has a computer club (which offers free help to members as well as lots of cool equipment), and frequent classes in computers, internet, and anything we need to know about the online world. Yet elderly residents would rather play and injure themselves at pickleball than learn how to make an online bank deposit or schedule a doctor appointment or participate in a telehealth visit. The saddest was when Covid vaccines appeared and were given in one of the social centers in our community. Didn't need to go to a crowded gym or drugstore, just go online, make an appointment and show up. Dozens of people - mostly women - arrived in tears begging to be vaccinated because they thought they were going to die! Had no idea how to use a computer or phone to make an appointment! The community realized that they'd have to set up computer help for these folks, and immediately did so.
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Geaton777 Apr 2, 2025
Retirees have all the time in the world to learn how to use technology that benefits them. I mean, seniors pay to play "brain games" to fend off dementia and memory issues... learning tech is mostly free and it benefits them in multiple ways: a win-win. With every new OS version new features are added that I have to teach myself to adapt to. If you wait too long in between updates, the learning curve is so much more challenging because then you aren't just learning a few new things, you're having to learn and adjust to a lot of new things and THIS is what makes tech so odious to many elders.

EXPECT tech to be time-consuming and frustrating. This is the difference between me and my hubs: I have a proper expectation and he doesn't -- which often results in him wanting to chuck his device across the room. Eat the elephant one bite at a time...
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Elders can check out class offerings at Senior Centers, Community Ed and places like the Apple Store in malls. I love going into the Apple Store because many of their tech people are older retirees with silver hair, like me.

People absolutely need to use a password keeper app. There's no getting around it. And your PoA needs to have the master PW for it.

There's a pw app called LastPass that has an Emergency Access feature which will allow a 1-time access by a trusted person you name. This was the original purpose of this app: to permit access to accounts of those who passed away. Now this is only 1 of many features. Single and family accounts run about $3 and $4 p/mo. It's well worth it. Apps like this (and OnePassword, which I've been using for about 20 years) can even automatically keep track and remember when you change a password.

Tech is not going away. I just found out that my USBank corporate account doesn't seem to be accessible through the website anymore, it's through the app only. It shocked me at first but I get that maintaining a website is expensive for businesses. Portal access through my mobile app was quick and I easily signed on (face recognition) and got the statement easier than going through the website.

Keeping up with tech is just going to be a necessary life skill and expense (like getting a new mobile phone before the one you have is so old that it no longer "plays nice" with latest operating systems and apps). Our grandkids' generation and those after them will do this seamlessly. We are the transitional generation, many who didn't ever need to use any technology at work. If you don't use it every day, you don't remember it. Decades ago my SBIL bought my SFIL and MIL a PC and tried to teach them how to use it. Back then, there was no YouTube tutorials, just giant printed User Manuals (ugh!) so when SBIL went back home, my in-laws were stuck. They never learned how to use technology. They even hated the advent of the Answering Machine.

Seniors should Bah Humbug technology at their own peril.
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Reply to Geaton777
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My local area on agency on aging branch has a program called "money minders." From their website: "[Money Minders] matches trained and bonded volunteers with clients who need help organizing their financial resources. Volunteers and clients work together in the client’s home to sort bills, make payments, keep checkbooks balanced, and make sure that no late payments or overdraft fees are incurred.For older adults 60+, Money Minders volunteers make a real difference in helping people continue to live independently, without the fear of losing control of their finances." That same agency offers Medicare counseling.

Requiring seniors to do so much online is making life really difficult. I'm an AARP tax aide volunteer, and we find that a lot of people who come to us for free in-person tax return prep could easily do it for free online, but just don't have the digital skills to do so.
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Fawnby Apr 1, 2025
That's really sad! I keep beating the drum for people to learn to use computers. Some are very resistant. Even when I tell them that if they don't know how to use a computer, they'll be unable to take care of themselves as they grow older in this world, they laugh it off. It appears that they expect their sons and daughters to do that for them if they really need it - but their children are the same people that we see on here all the time exhausted and careworn from caregiving their parents (who didn't plan for themselves when they could have).
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Yes, call the company you have the account with and ask for help with your online struggles.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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