Helping Older Adults Stay Connected via Technology
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, older adult NYCHA residents were provided with free tablets and training on how to use the tablets, which most participants said helped keep them connected with friends, family, community, and religious services and prevented isolation during a time when everyone was staying home.
Now, Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP has released a report, “Fly Like an Eagle: Measuring Transformational Social Outcomes Among Seniors Using Technology,” based on the results of the free tablet program; the report presents strong evidence that providing older adults with access to technology devices and training programs can help close the technology gap and reduce social isolation, loneliness, and depression. (To read the report in full, click here.) OATS from AARP helps older adults learn to use and leverage technology to transform their lives and their communities
“We have long believed that technology training offers life-changing benefits for older adults,” said Tom Kamber, Executive Director of OATS from AARP. “This report brings powerful new evidence to confirm that when combined with access to a tablet and the internet, technology training leads to measurable change: more friends, less loneliness, more experience of new things, and less risk of depression. These are extraordinary results with major implications for strategies to help seniors overcome digital isolation.”
The report is based on Connected NYCHA, an emergency initiative launched at the start of the pandemic that provided 10,000 free internet-connected tablets to older adults living in NYCHA developments, as well as free training services through the OATS from AARP flagship program, Senior Planet. The program was a partnership between OATS from AARP, T-Mobile, the Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (MOCTO), the NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA), and NYCHA.
Senior Planet classes cover technology basics, digital arts and crafts, and much more (like the “Android Essentials” course about sending and receiving emails, safely searching the internet, downloading and using apps, taking photos, and making video calls).
Researchers found that older adults who received technology training were three times as likely to contact someone new, nearly four times as likely to participate in a new activity, and twice as likely to participate in a video call with a new contact. Older adults who received technology training felt more connected to friends, family, and congregants than those who did not.
NYCHA resident Maria Arnold spoke at an event held by OATS from AARP on October 4 to mark Digital Inclusion Week, which raises awareness of solutions that address digital equity. She talked about receiving a free tablet and how OATS from AARP contacted her multiple times before she finally signed up for an online class on using the tablet. The classes became something she looked forward to: “I continued to take the classes, continued to learn how to do things. I learned how to talk to my doctors on camera, how to send emails, how to go to YouTube and use streaming; then I cut cable. It’s very freeing, and that’s why I say I feel like I can fly. I’ve met a lot of people [in class] who are in the same situation as me, but they learned, and we expand and grow in our minds. Senior Planet has shown me that I’m not too old to work my mind.”
Other NYCHA residents expressed similar feelings. Ruth David said: “I had absolutely no knowledge about how these devices worked, but since joining the classes I feel like a pro navigating. I am so much more knowledgeable about how to use my tablet, my cell phone, and even a computer. I’ve learned how to search for important information and download music and games. I can stay in contact with my family and friends more than I did in the past, and I now conduct an online game night once a month for my family and friends.” And Beverly, 68, said: “I am just so excited over how much I’ve learned. I’ve done a few exercise classes; I’ve learned how to use YouTube (which I never went on before). Now I’m more connected with my granddaughter and daughter.”
NYCHA’s Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt noted: “Older adults are an important part of the social fabric of NYCHA campuses citywide, and providing them with the technological resources needed to enhance their connections to their neighbors, family members, and surrounding community is paramount. We applaud OATS from AARP for bringing attention to the social and emotional benefits that increased digital equity can bring to NYCHA seniors. The organization is a vital partner in addressing the digital divide affecting public housing residents.”
NYCHA seniors who received free tablets from the City and would like to sign up for a class or get help should call the Senior Planet Technology Hotline at 888-713-3495. For more resources, visit seniorplanet.org/nycha. To learn more about OATS, visit oats.org.
Featured photo caption: From left to right: Jean Dublin, NYCHA resident; Maria Arnold, NYCHA Resident; Tom Kamber, OATS from AARP Executive Director; City Council Member Gale Brewer; Adam Wysocki, DFTA representative, Tiffany Benjamin, Humana Foundation CEO; Kevin Jones, AARP NY State Office.