Cell phones have become very important in communications today. Aside from popular apps and built in functions, the cellphone’s primary uses are to call and message a person. For senior citizens, these basic functions may be all that are needed. While older phone models can be used for these functions, more appropriate phones have been developed particularly for seniors’ use.
Helping Seniors Avoid Forgetting Their Phones
The reason you got your dad a cell phone is so he can easily contact you or help services if he finds himself in an emergency. However, no matter how sophisticated the phone is, if dad can’t remember where he put it, or forgets to bring it on his trips, the mobile phone loses its intended purpose. Continue reading
Why Seniors Have to Get Cell Phone Plans
Communication is among the oldest forms of services that don’t lose value; in fact, it becomes increasingly more valuable in this time of globalization. There are many means of communicating that are made possible by current technology, including the Internet and cell phones. These are used not only for business, but also for socialization and security purposes.
A Senior’s Guide to Choosing Cell Phones
You’ve stuck to your landline all this time because you can’t manage to use mobile phones, especially those touchscreen ones that require nimble thumbs. Unfortunately, most of your loved ones and friends have done away with their own landlines, and you are now feeling a bit left out. This may be a good time to seriously consider getting a cell phone for yourself.
Of course, it’s difficult to get used to a device that’s completely new to you, and have all these features that you know little about. No worries, though, as there are cell phones now especially designed for senior citizens like you. These mobile phones are devoid of any complicated features, and instead are equipped with the simplest ones to facilitate basic cell phone functions, like calling and texting.
Cell phones for seniors typically have keypads with big letters or numbers, making them easy to see. There are also phones with a speaking keypad that plays back the numbers or letters you have pressed. You won’t have to worry at all about making errors.
If you wear hearing aids, there are mobile phones that are hearing aid-compatible. This way, you can have an easy conversation with anyone. Also look into a cell phone with long battery life as you likely won’t have the time to charge the battery on a daily basis.
Tips for Aging in Place
According to one study, most seniors fear moving into an elderly home than they do passing away. After all, moving into a home means giving up a great deal of independence—meals are structured, leisure time is defined and there’s a curfew, among other restrictions. For this reason, many seniors wish to retire in their own homes, a preference many people call “aging in place.”
However, the elderly often have a hard time convincing their children to agree to this option, the leading reason for which are concerns about the parents’ well-being. Fortunately, there are things you can do to assuage your children’s fears about your decision to age in place:
Medical Concerns
The biggest concern your kids have is your health. Reassure them by visiting your doctor regularly and by taking your medications as prescribed.
Injuries
Slip and fall accidents are extremely common amongst seniors, but you can modify your home to prevent their occurrence. For example, you can move you master bedroom to the first floor to avoid climbing up the stairs so often, or add non-slip flooring and grab bars to slippery areas like the bathroom.
Communication
When emergencies happen, you should be able to contact your family immediately. Fortunately, there are now easy-to-use, highly readable cellphones on the market, specifically designed for seniors like yourself. What’s more, some models have built-in emergency notification services, like the SnapFon. Having this line of communication should allay their worries enough when they’re apart from you.
Calls Cut by Low Power? There’s a System for That
Imagine you’re in the middle of an important call when your phone suddenly cuts out. After a few failed attempts to reestablish contact, you realize that your phone is dead. That’s right; in the middle of your call, your phone ran out of juice, giving everyone unnecessary inconvenience.
At this point, the receiver will most likely assume that your phone died. However, it’s possible that you moved into a place that blocks all signals. There’s always that room in the house. Ironically enough, for all the powerful technology and features incorporated into today’s mobile phones, manufacturers seem to have forgotten to integrate a warning system for when the battery is about to run out during a call.
Fortunately, phones for seniors, like the Snapfon, had enough foresight to add precisely this feature into their units, effectively notifying the receiver of the caller’s low-battery state moments before the call is cut. This prompts the receiver to say everything he needs to say while the caller’s phone still has power. Caregivers are known to use this system to great effect.
On a related note, phones for seniors can save on battery life by pressing the SOS button at the back of the unit instead of dialing the number. The button will connect the caller to a monitoring service, a family member, or 911 depending on the settings. Pressing the button also triggers a loud siren to alert people nearby of an emergency.
Is a “Senior” Mobile Plan Really Worth the Deal?
More senior citizens now own mobile phones. According to a research, nearly 7 out of 10 people over the age of 65 now own cell phones, and more are coming in. However, numerous data plans are not really being helpful with the elderly – in fact, seniors may have been paying too much for most data they won’t probably make use of.
Senior citizen plans, like those being offered by mobile giants, usually do not include added data features like web browsing in the monthly scheme. Most seniors are now going web-savvy, but it appears that they’re being made to shell out more cash than necessary, when all that they primarily need is call and text service. For example, a basic 2 GB plan from a mainstream provider requires a minimum of extra $30 for web browsing. For an additional 5 GB, the extra fee costs $50. Misinformed seniors who like to surf the web but wasn’t made aware of the extra charges may soon find their phone bill numbers ballooning without notice.
However, negotiating a way out is possible. Seniors can settle for a temporary increase in minutes or browsing data for a specific month if they need it – via an extra small fee. Most providers acknowledge this deal especially for specialized subscribers. If that’s still too burdensome, then a prepaid option is always available.
Features Needed for a Cell Phone for the Elderly
If you’re thinking of giving your grandparents a phone that they can use every day, you might not want to give them a smartphone (unless they already know how to use one), nor should you expect them to accept just about any phone you offer to give them. Efficient cell phones for seniors should have features like:
Large Display and Keypads
The screen display itself should come in a bright and well-lit design that the elderly members of your family can clearly see, even those whose eyesight is already having problems. Don’t think of getting them touch-type models, too, as it will only prove to be more difficult for them to type into it. They need large keypads to accommodate their fingers that are no longer as nimble as they used to be.
Emergency Button
Most cell phones that are made especially for senior citizens come with special buttons that they can press in case of emergency. These buttons are typically monitored 24/7 by a team that will then contact you or inform emergency services about the condition of the phone’s owner. Some models even have a ringtone feature that could alert anyone in the immediate vicinity about the emergency.
Simple
Give your elderly loved ones a mobile phone that’s simple enough for them to learn and use, free of the complex features that they probably won’t be using anyway. This will make it easier for them to familiarize themselves with applying that piece of technology in their everyday lives.
Tips in Buying a Cell Phone for Senior Citizens
When finding the best cell phone for senior citizens, it’s important for you to remember that their cell phone habits are likely to be very different from yours. It’s likely, they don’t want to press too many buttons if they want to send a message nor do they want to talk to the phone as often as you do. What you need is a phone that’s designed specifically for them.
Ideally, the phone you’ll be buying should be simple to use: the fewer buttons, the better. In fact, there’s a good chance that a phone with texting capabilities is something that senior citizens don’t want because pressing numerous buttons can be taxing for them. It’s also better if the phone you’ll be buying can accommodate seniors who have eyesight and/or hearing problems. This is done by phones that feature large screens and clear speakers. Obviously, a phone should be hearing-aid compatible if its intended user wears such a device.
Finally, there are some peripherals and features that you might want to have, but are mostly dependent on your circumstances. Car-chargers may be necessary in case of emergencies, especially for seniors who travel a lot. Meanwhile, Internet-functionality may be useful for emergency communication, not just if the intended user browses the Internet a lot.
What to Look for When Buying Phones for Seniors
Young people use cell phones to communicate in different ways, whether through calling, text messaging, or social media. However, unlike the younger generation, the elderly need phones for very different reasons reasons: Safety and security (so they notify authorities or relatives immediately in case of an emergency); convenience (so they can stay in touch with family and friends if they have a medical condition and can’t leave the house); prompts and reminders (so they will know when it’s time to take their medication), and; to have peace of mind wherein their loved ones can check on them when necessary.
In order to ensure that the elderly get their basic phone needs, you must take into consideration the features that will help them the most. Some of the basic things you may want to consider are phones with a bright and easy to read screen, a simple design, big buttons, an adjustable font size, and large icons.
For the elderly with hearing challenges, you might like to consider having a phone that offers a designated way to adjust volume. Additionally, you should know that certain phones for the elderly are hearing aid compatible.
Aside from the basic features to look for, you might also want to acquire advanced features and apps like a GPS locator to notify a relative of your location, and vice versa.
Seniortech LLC 