Tackling the tech challenge: Smartphone workshop a hit with Kolkata senior citizens

Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN | 14 May 2019 |KOLKATA: In this classroom, the youngest student is 64. Renu Das is among a group of senior citizens gingerly touching the mobile phones they borrowed from their kids or grandkids to attend the digital empowerment workshop at Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (CMIG). Steered by the centre’s “geron-technology” wing that focuses on digital literacy for the elderly, the workshop inaugurated on Friday also had EVM and VVPAT in the syllabus. Titled, “digital collage: workshop on technical empowerment of the elderly”, it will soon evolve into a weekly exercise so the pupils didn’t forget the smartphone usage tips.

Conducting the programme wasn’t easy though. Most students had to be showed how to touch the devices again and again. Every time someone tried to connect Sukla Naskar, 70, to her son, the line went blank because she held the phone tight against her cheek. Shagufta Ambareen, coordinator, gently guided her, teaching her how to hold the device. Sandhya Das, 77, was taught where to look on the screen while making a video call. She continued tapping timidly until she landed on the right icon and found herself looking at her daughter on the cellphone. “Their sons and daughters tell them how to explore the smartphone, but youngsters most likely lack the patience to keep going. I am sure they are eager to jump on the digital bandwagon and embrace the smart way of life. All they need is a little patience from the teachers,” said Indrani Chakravarty, director, CMIG, eastern India’s only centre for the elderly run by the ministry of social justice and empowerment.

Speaking of the power-point presentation on EVM and VVPAT, Chakravarty said, “This year, it’s especially important for the elderly, who comprise a large section of voters, to understand VVPAT.”

The participants were encouraged to ask questions. “Eventually, they will be taught how to use Paytm, book railway tickets, or call a cab,” said researcher Debapriya Das. Krishnapada Bhattacharya, 67, said, “There’s a lot I have to learn to crack the mystery of smartphones,” he said.

Santipriya Chakraborty, 68, had a button cellphone and has trouble tackling the complex machine his grandson gifted him. “I must learn to exploit the technology to the fullest,”he said.

What was most rewarding for the CMIG researchers was the way the workshop made the participants share their knowledge with their peers, portraying “elder-to-elder” teaching like never before.