Tech gifts for a parent who finds technology hard
A new gadget is one more thing to learn. For somebody who already finds their phone confusing, the present that helps most is often not a device at all. Here is what to think about before you buy.
Ask one question first
Is the trouble the device, or not knowing how to use it? If they can make a call but were never shown how to video call, a new phone brings a new screen to learn and the same missing lesson. If the device itself is failing — too slow, too small to read, no longer updated — a new one can help, and how it is set up matters as much as which one you choose.
Gifts that are not gadgets
- An afternoon of your time with the phone or tablet they already have: bigger text, the people they call most at the front, and anything they never use moved out of the way. How to make the text bigger
- A first video call, done together, with you on the other end the next day so they can try it alone. Video calls without the panic
- A printed sheet kept by the device, for the things they always forget and the number to call about a strange message. 10 signs a message may be a scam, free to print
- Patient lessons, so the next question does not have to wait for your next visit.
If you do buy a device
- Choose one that works like the one they know, so there is less to relearn.
- Set it up before you hand it over: move their contacts and photos across, sign it in, and make the text large. Keep the old one charged in a drawer for a couple of weeks, in case something did not come across. Moving to a new phone without losing anything
- Ask how long it will keep getting security updates. Updates are repairs, and a device that no longer gets them is not one to bank on. Updates are repairs, not nagging
- Stay for the first hour, and write down how to do the three things they will do most.
Whatever you give
Let them press the buttons themselves. Taking the phone to do it faster teaches that it is too hard for them. And tell them it is always fine to hang up on a call they are unsure about, and ring back on a number they already have.
Giving Lantern
Lantern is ours, so weigh this part accordingly. It teaches phones, computers and staying safe online, one short lesson at a time, on practice screens where nothing can break. As a gift it is paid once and never renews, and they need no payment card to redeem it. You can print the gift card or send it by email.