Hi All! Can anyone recommend activities for seniors (70yo+) to do on a Windows computers. My Grandparents check the news and weather, than sort of get lost from there…. They definitely show interest in computers, but just don't know what else to do. This is just from limited experience across their lifetime in actually using them.
I would like to add a list of bookmarks to their web browser to keep them occupied. Any ideas?
I know some older folk who are poker or canasta addicts.
Join Ozbargain ;-D
Search for bargains & post on here.
Tetris, solataire……
bridge, poker :)
Online Pokies?
I've got my mum on solitaire and a bunch of other games on her iPad. the card games are great because they already know the rules (familiar), it's good for their brain and also gets them comfortable on the computer.
Facebook is great for the oldies as well. it gets them "interacting" with things even if it's silly. Those stupid posts that say "Say yes if you believe in karma" or whatever and then I see my mum posting :,) Cracks me up, but it keeps them busy, feeling like they're engaged with the world etc
Set Wikipedia as a bookmark and show them how to use it a few times. It's an amazing resource and less daunting than trying to find a useful link on Google.
Spotify is also amazing. Again, I'd recommend showing them how to use it but once they get the hang of it, it opens up a whole new world. All the music of their lives in one place.
Tinder / Grindr ?
Start an only fans.
Only Grans
big fish games for the hidden object games are also good - even if they only play the free trials
TED talks
Set youtube as the home/starting page, there should be enough material to keep them entertained… or teach them how to do a google search so they can find whatever they're interested in.
Probably best to stop thinking about them as an age group, and think about what they might be interested in. I wouldn’t post a message saying what might people in their 30s use a computer for?
Older people I know:
- lead an environmental group that meets via zoom and organises via Basecamp
- sell donations on gumtree and facebook marketplace to make money for the men’s shed
- watch streaming and catch up tv.
- trade shares via their online broker
- produce amateur audio (music and plays)
- go overboard with flight simulator
If they have no experience doing these things, but want to do them, it is great motivation to learn. But if you are trying to get them to “use computers” it probably isn’t very interesting.
Exactly; well said.
People forget that the 'world wide web' was invented by a guy born in 1955.
Here's some resources - https://www.monlib.vic.gov.au/eLibrary/Online-Learning-Resou…
honestly once they learn YouTube - they're going to be highest streaming consumers in the household
Let them watch YouTube travel videos
I used to have a few nursing home clients, we were pitching network and IT security some time ago. Net filtering for anything and everything. During the POC stage, one called up and said you better head in and see us, bring a tech. Wouldn't tell us why.
Turns out, our older generation enjoy looking at 'adult sites' on their computers… We had set the wrong black lists and thresholds a little too strict.
So… with that… Perhaps an activity for 'them'. 👍
I wouldn't be surprised. Might as well YOLO it.
Why would you want to limit what those residents could use the internet for?
The team had not restricted the usage intentionally. It was POC and using one of the default lists the vendor had created which was applied.
You would restrict usage from sites that are questionable such as terror-related etc. A net content filter is used for many applications.
I bet your company has some form of whitelist and blacklist, as would schools etc. the list and applications go on and on.
As for aged care - who knows, we were just following a lead the vendor provided us with at the time. :)
Funny story nevertheless.
Do they play bridge? Get them a subscription to the Australian Bridge online magazine https://www.australianbridge.com/novice.php
Lots of articles to read, problems to try, and puzzles they can submit their answers for.
I can get you a discount if you would like
Become a victim of identity theft.
Gaming. Chess, sudoku, etc.
Learning to type can also be quite fun and rewarding. I use www.typingclub.com. Some American spelling can be quite annoying though.