Gone are the years of busy spring time, nudging me gently in to the autumn years of my life…
“Gainfully unemployed, very proud of it, too” is the quote which fits my current stage of senior citizenship. Relaxed lifestyle, time for friends, family and things I missed out during the prime years gain attention.
Everything had been going good till my son decided to gift me a smart phone. I had an old model phone which I used for sending/receiving messages and calls. The phone did not even boast of a camera. The first hitch happened when I tried to put the SIM card in the new phone. My SIM card was too big for the phone. My son suggested that I can get the card cut for the new phone size from some mobile phone shop but forgot to mention that I have to take a backup of my data. As a result, I lost all the numbers I had on the phone and my sleep that night over it. It took me a whole week to find out how to get the contacts done manually in my new phone. I am still not sure of the contacts I have lost in this process.
The second blockhead was that I needed a mail id to use the features available. After much research on numerology and astrology, I tried to create a mail id with the chosen username as per my son’s instructions. The small touchpad with tiny letters aren’t for compatible with the senior years of mine. I registered a wrong email id and I forgot the password. Finally had to bring in my son to create a new email id and give me.
Finally, am all set. Day by day, I find some feature in my smart phone and explore. I mail my friends, my bank and other investment companies. Now many of my transaction and investment related issues are resolved by emails against time consuming calls and call forwarding’s. I check train & flight timings, book tickets and pay my bills through my smart phone.
I even have a scanner in my phone which I use to scan my id and address proofs and mail them when required. I have a Facebook account and keep in touch with family and friends. I read e-newspapers, play games and solve Sudoku in my smart phone. My family now complains that they have to meet me over WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, Skype and emails. Let’s just say I would be lost without it now.
Though there are many advantages because of its arrival, there are a few issues with these gadgets. They are made with a younger generation in mind. The smart phones with small screens and small touch pads are not apt for my age group. It is a big strain on our eyes & hands at this age but the smart phones with big screens are targeted at business users. Their exorbitant prices don’t suit our pockets too.
Smart phone companies think of all kinds of innovative modes like Flight Mode, Battery Save Mode, Data Network Mode, etc. My question is why not a SENIOR CITIZEN MODE? This mode should furnish us with bigger typing and touch pads, bigger icons, possibilities to hide advanced features and some emergency help icons for times of need. Even the mobile service providers have 1000’s of packages but have no specific 3G plans to our benefits. All packages are aimed at the younger generation. Would the mobile companies and service providers turn their heads towards this segment of the population?
