Barb, 68, wants you to put down your phone
“I wouldn’t say we’re a smart home. And to be honest, I’m glad because it seems complicated. Sometimes I just want to turn on the light switch.”
When I became interested in design for older adults, I thought it would be interesting to interview some of the older people I already knew. The first person I thought of? My mom.
We spoke over Google Meet about common misconceptions about baby boomers, frustrations with technology, and our hopes for a more mindful future where people put down their phones.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Do you consider yourself a baby boomer?
Yes, and I’m proud of it.
Why’s that?
Because I think my generation has made a lot of positive changes. For example, baby boomers fought for women's rights, which has opened up opportunities for younger generations.
Very true. I probably owe a lot to the baby boomers, especially as a woman.
Yep.
What do you think the biggest misconception about baby boomers and technology is?
Young people often think baby boomers don’t read emails or can’t figure out things online, which is totally untrue. We’re a diverse group of people, and many of us are tech-savvy with jobs in tech. We’re not all the same.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least, how tech savvy do you consider yourself?
An 8
What devices do you use on a regular basis?
I use my phone for almost everything — email, news, GPS, entertainment, shopping. I have a Fitbit for tracking steps and sleep, and I use an iPad for everything else. My husband and I share a laptop, but I don’t use it that much since retiring. Maybe once a week.
Barb’s devices include her iPhone, FitBit, and iPad. Since retiring, she doesn’t need her laptop as much.
Do you have any smart home devices?
We have two Alexas, and, a smart fridge, strangely enough. Oh, and my husband’s toothbrush.
I wouldn’t say we’re a smart home. And to be honest, I’m glad because it seems complicated. Sometimes I just want to turn on the light switch.
Has anything changed about the way you use technology as you've gotten older?
I depend on my phone much more now. It’s my go-to for directions, news, books, movies, and games. The downside is that you can spend all day on your phone. I see it with some of my friends who can’t stop looking at their phones. It can be aggravating.
I see the same thing with my friends. With everyone, really. Do you use social media?
I'm on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. I check Facebook daily for birthdays and events, and I like how it shows me things I'm interested in. I use Pinterest for project ideas, but I don’t use Instagram as much since I was hacked.
What happened?
I don’t really know. I had two accounts and they weren’t helpful in resolving it. So now I don’t really use it.
Do you ever post on Facebook?
Not in a long time. I think some of my friends would like to see my grandchildren but I don't want to post their pictures, because I feel that it’s up to the parents how much they're exposed. They don't post pictures, so I don't.
As the mother of some of those grandchildren, I appreciate that.
Besides that, it's just me and my husband and we're not that interesting. Well, I think we are, but I'm not gonna post it online.
What is your biggest frustration with technology?
You want me to pick just one? [Laughs]
Well, I’m volunteering for our church right now and it’s very frustrating because no one seems to know how to share Google Docs. It’s been a disaster. People rename the file. People make a new file. When I was working in a company, everyone just knew. But in the real world, people don’t.
The other thing is calendar sharing. Once you retire, you have a lot more appointments — doctor appointments, physical therapy appointments, and volunteer appointments. And you need to coordinate with your partner so there aren’t conflicts. But my husband’s not good at sharing his calendar. So we use a paper calendar that some of us are more invested in than others. [Laughs]
But that’s a pain too because when you’re out making appointments, you're like, “I have to go home and check my calendar.”
The calendar Barb and her husband use to keep track of appointments sits on the fridge in their kitchen.
I have the same frustration with my husband, scheduling plans with two kids and work. We use Google Calendar, but it’s still a pain.
Another frustration is organizing all this data. I have pages of apps that I haven’t organized and a lot of emails and voicemails I should delete.
I also bookmark a lot of recipes on my phone but…I can’t find them. I feel like bookmarks work differently on my phone than on my laptop. Now I just put the URL in my notes. I use my notes a lot.
Do you worry about anything related to technology?
Some of my friends are super nervous about Alexa listening to you and all that stuff. I'm not as worried about that. I think the government needs to figure out a way to manage it because I don't think that's going away. And if it's done correctly, it makes your life easier.
Barb has two Alexa devices in her home. She isn’t as worried about privacy concerns as some of her friends are and she sees the upside of having them: “If it’s done correctly, it makes your life easier.”
I do worry about getting hacked and scammed. I’ve been scammed before and it’s really scary. And I should have known better because I worked at a security company — I was trained! But I was really busy and I got this email from PayPal. And I stupidly called them. And it was this whole thing.
I ended up just getting rid of PayPal. I kind of miss it because it was helpful but that experience was scary and I could not get hold of a person. I was so frustrated that I finally said, “I’m not gonna do this anymore.”
It sounds similar to what happened with Instagram. You were hacked and when you couldn’t get in touch with anyone to help you, you decided to opt out.
I know that it’s not the best way to resolve it, but that's how I did it.
Do you miss anything about the way things were, tech-wise?
To me, the worst thing that’s happened is the way people interact with each other. They’re always on their phone. Sometimes it’s even people that are older than me. And they’re kind of stuck in their house, and their world gets smaller, and their world becomes their phone.
We just went on vacation with someone and they had their phone constantly in front of them. It was annoying but I didn’t want to say anything and hurt their feelings.
I see that a lot too. When I take my kids to the playground or if I’m waiting for the bus, I try to not automatically pick up my phone. To be present. Or people watch. But the people watching is kind of boring because everyone is just looking at their phone.
I watch kids get off the bus and — I don't even know how they do it — they never take their eyes off their phone. They go down steps, cross the street, and never look up.
Any hopes for the future of aging and tech?
I hope that by the time I get really old — and I don't really know what that means anymore, but let’s just say 80s old — that things will be figured out more so I can age in place. I think that's really important.
We had a big discussion the other week about location trackers. My friend tracks her husband. I don’t track mine and I don’t want him to track me, but I understand why they do it — if something happens, they’ll know where he is.
And I know that with a FitBit or Apple Watch, a family member can be alerted if you fall. I think, “Look at that. That could be helpful.” But all this stuff is a bit intrusive. I don’t really want people dropping in on me. I’m not ready for that yet, but when the times comes I’ll have to adjust, I guess.
Thanks so much for your time.
I enjoyed it. I'm glad someone was listening.
I also think that maybe some of my answers aren't age-dependent. Those things are probably aggravating for a lot of people, even younger ones.
Completely agree.
