It’s finally time to gift that senior in your family with a proper cell phone. If you’re a caregiver, you may be looking for better ways to keep tabs on them.
If you’re a senior, you look forward to staying in touch with family and friends, and exchanging precious photos.
Before you shell out a large sum of money it is important to find a phone that provides what you need, without all the extra bells and whistles. While cell phones for seniors are important, if you don’t pick one that is suitable, all your efforts may be in vain.
To my amusement, my sister bought my mother an iPhone 6. My mother has mastered how to view and send photos and easily sends text messages. She enjoys connecting by FaceTime, as we live across the country. She loves it when I scan my apartment so she can tell me how desperately it needs cleaning. Likewise, it’s good to see what she’s been up to in the garden through a virtual exchange.
With some adjustments, we set the language settings on her phone so she can text in English or Spanish without the disruptive auto-correct on every word, given that our family often switches between both languages. In addition, we increased the text size of her text messages to lessen the strain on her eyes. However, she has yet to get comfortable with the most basic feature – how to check her voicemail.
You must know and respects each senior’s comfort level. So, where do you start?
With the majority of seniors looking to simply make and answer calls and perhaps send a limited number of text messages, smart phones may be out of the picture.
Your best bet is finding a phone that is affordable, easy to use, sports big buttons, and has great battery life. Many features, such as text size, contrast, and volume can be easily adjusted. If the Internet will not be used, that is a feature that can be turned off.
Special Features for Seniors
The top cell phone features that seniors naturally use are the display and buttons. The display must be easy-to-read, which means it needs to be a larger size, and the brightness and contrast of the display should be appropriate so a senior’s eyes can easily see the numbers on the screen.
The size of the buttons also deserves a good look. The larger the buttons, typically the easier the phone is to use. Both speak to how simple it is to see everything.
Another important feature is the user’s experience with navigating through a menu. Does your loved one get lost just trying to find a phone number in his/her contact list? Are they able to easily retrieve text messages?
The volume of the ringtone and earpiece are also important phone attributes for seniors. While both features are adjustable on most phones, phones made just for seniors have higher volume options, making the phone ring louder and the incoming voice much easier to hear.
Unique mobile phone features that may assist caregivers and seniors are a GPS (global positioning system) and a panic button. Mobile phones can transmit a GPS signal that pinpoints the location of the person carrying the phone within a few feet, and some phones even show a road map and aerial photo of the locale.
These characteristics can help caregivers quickly find lost or disoriented seniors. The panic button is another safeguard that can protect seniors and give caregivers peace of mind. Seniors simply push the panic button to instantly summon help.
When you are looking at cell phones for seniors, you might find that your needs are met in a normal cell phone, or you may need to focus on one specifically designed with seniors in mind.
Tips for Buying Cell phones
Before choosing a mobile phone, think about which attributes are important to them, or you. Get familiar with cell phones and their available features, and then determine what is most important to you.
A few questions to ask yourself:
- Functionality –Which functions do you need in a phone? What will you use your phone for? Texting? Camera? Internet searching? FaceTime/Skype? Auto-emergency dialing?
- Size – Is the size of the phone too large or small? Can the user hold it comfortably?
- Screen Display – Is the screen big enough to see clearly?
- Buttons – Are button sizes appropriate for arthritic hands or for seniors with limited hand movements?
- Menu Navigation – Is the senior get lost while navigating the phone menu?
- Volume – Are the ringtone and earpiece volumes adjustable? Do they get loud enough to hear them well?
How does the phone Lock/Unlock? – How the phone locks and unlocks is important for people with arthritis. Normally, to lock or unlock a phone, a person has to press a series of buttons. A flip-style phone may be a better option because the phone unlocks as soon as it is flipped open.
Importance of Cell phones for Seniors
Mobile technology is changing the lives of seniors. Great devices and all-in-one calling plans are making it easy for the 65+ crowd to stay connected. 77% of seniors of all racial and ethnic groups, and income levels are using cell phones.
Cell phone use is also high among immigrants, with 73% of immigrants to the United States using cell phones to send emails. Immigrant use of cell phones tends to be higher than that of the population in general, which is particularly relevant for immigrant seniors.
In fact, seniors may need a cell phone more than others. They need to be able to stay connected to medical services in case of emergencies, as well as family and friends. Research shows that isolation among seniors can be detrimental to their quality of life, and increases their risk for abuse, whether self-neglect, financial fraud, or other forms.
For example, socially isolated seniors are less able to engage in their communities and can contribute to the development of depression
Not only is social isolation a major issue, but research indicates that social isolation may be as high as 43% in older adults living in the community.
The potential of a cellphone to help alleviate social isolation is enough to make it a worthwhile investment even without the other advantages that a cellphone offers.
Cellphone help to keep seniors safe too, especially when the senior also uses a medical alert system like MobileHelp or Medical Care Alert.
Unfortunately, most seniors have limited monthly income and may not be able to afford the costly cell phone bills, or even afford to purchase one. In fact, more than 50% of seniors rely exclusively on Social Security as their source of income. This number is even higher among Hispanic and African-American seniors. Monthly incomes of seniors on Social Security is hardly enough to meet daily expenses, let alone high-cost cell phone bills.
With medical and other expenses taking precedence, cell phones might be low on their list of must-haves. Luckily, a handful of programs are available to subsidize the cost of a cell phone, or offer free phones.
Free Cell Phones and Minutes for Seniors
The federal program called “Lifeline” was created to provide cell phones or free home phone service for anyone for emergencies; this is especially important for seniors. The Lifeline program provides a free cell phone and up to a certain number of free minutes every month. The quality and type of phones vary by vendor.
Most of the time you do not have an option about what phone you receive, but instead you tend to receive what the service has available.
You are eligible for Lifeline if you currently receive assistance from the federal government or if your income is equal to or less than 135% of the federal poverty guidelines.
You must meet the income guidelines or participate in one of the following programs:
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps or SNAP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8)
- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF)
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
- State assistance programs (if applicable)
Additionally, the Lifeline program also offers discounts on some cellphone plans, which may be an alternative if you do not like the specific phones that Lifeline offers.
Teaching a Senior How to Use Cell Phones and AARP:
For seniors who want help in learning how to use a smart phone or tablet, AARP has a Technology Education Center, which has online guides on how to get the most out of those devices. We also have an article filled with tips for teaching seniors to use technology. AARP also teaches in-person workshops; schedules can be found at AARP’s website or by calling your local AARP office.
If you are more than 50 years old and a member of AARP, you may have noticed that AARP is offering cell phones at discounted rates. These phones and services are provided by Consumer Cellular — a company whose products targets older Americans.
Central to Consumer Cellular and AARP’s offering is a set of low-cost, no-contract service plans and an exclusive set of phones made by Doro, a Swedish cell phone manufacturer. The cell plans start with a $10 plan called Anywhere Casual, which is meant as a way for senior citizens to carry around a phone only for emergencies. Minutes cost about 25 cents each.
At the End of the Day…
The idea of looking at cell phones for seniors might seem a bit daunting, but it really doesn’t have to be.
More than anything else the key thing to think about is figuring out a type of cellphone that is going to work well for your relative and meet both their needs and yours.
There might be a lot of options out there, but there are also many places and people that you can turn to for advice.
In many cases, your relative’s ability to pick up and understand the new technology might surprise you and them having a cellphone certainly offers peace of mind all around.
Leave a Reply