Ben Lowry: We all get left behind by technology as we get older, not just pensioners

The letter opposite (in the print edition) from Albert makes interesting reading (see web link below).

I cannot vouch for the incident which he describes, in which he says that he was unable to avail of a discount deal for pensioners because he is not online, and I do not know what Iceland would have to say about it all.

placeholder image — Ben Lowry had got his head round using Facebook and Twitter and was reluctant to learn about apps, but when he did he found that they kept needing updating and he did not have space on his phone for them all, so was unable to avail of app-only deals

But it would not surprise me in the least if an offer aimed at pensioners was made 'web only'.

I have noticed the rapid proliferation of online-only offers and services over the years, and have often wondered about the older people who are left behind by the march of the internet.

In the 2010 cold snap a charity for the elderly gave an email address as its only point of contact – and at a time when far fewer older people had web access than they do now.

Such restrictions make me wonder if the service is run for what best suits it beneficiaries, or its providers ...

In fact I can see how my generation can also be left behind.

I have been using the web now for almost 30 years, and even I find myself getting marooned by technology.

For example, I had got my head round the social media platforms Twitter and Facebook when friends and relatives told me I needed to get something called ‘Whatsapp’.

In 2019 I was in a group trip to America in which everyone else was using this thing, Whatsapp, to co-ordinate what they were doing and to send messages. But I did not have the energy to learn a new thing – I knew how to use email, how to use internal work messages, how to use a mobile, how to send a text, how to use Facebook and how to Tweet. So I was shut out of those messages between the rest of the group.

Recently, though, after a relative died I joined Whatsapp to communicate with family and I agree that it is handy way to chat.

Also, with great reluctance I began to download apps, which seemed complex. But already I am finding that they need replaced and I don't have enough memory on my phone for a new app.

So my reluctance to keep updating my web experience means I can't avail of app-only services.