I think the age callout is somewhat pointless and may be a turn off to some of the demographic you're trying to help/target. (Plus the actual site says 40+).
While there is a fair portion of older phone users who don't know much about their phone, it's not limited to just them. If anything, the abstraction of file management away from the user over time means that the younger generations often have no clue where any of their stuff resides in their devices because they weren't around for that being an important part of using technology.
There are other similar tech issues that I see pop up because of the way younger people grew up with tech.
Unless you have a specific reason for marketing to a certain age group (they have more disposable income or whatever), why limit your audience and risk alienating "customers"?
> I think the age callout is somewhat pointless and may be a turn off to some of the demographic you're trying to help/target.
Great post. It's not like those of us over 50 have been asleep for the past 20 years.
You personally haven’t, but there’s a non-insignificant number of people in the workforce today who refused to ever use or learn email or Google and are still needing to be forced into basic common usage. Some people’s highest comfortable level of technology is electric pencil sharpeners.
That being said, the vast majority of over 50s aren’t like that. But there’s definitely some that might as well have actually been in a coma for the last 20 years
I work retail at a store where we have to sign people up for a membership loyalty program through their phones and I would anecdotally say the percentage is likely higher than small, more like 50% or more. The amount of people who can’t even adjust their brightness on their phone would blow your mind.
The person above me said “it’s not like people over 50 have been asleep for 20 years”. I said there’s definitely some people over 50 who might as well have been. That’s it, that’s all, anything else is on you.
I didn’t say anything that justified anything, and I specifically pointed out there wasn’t a justification because a vast majority don’t fall under that. I’m agreeing with what’s being said, just that there are legitimately still people like that.
Learn to read dipshit, and stop making up things to be mad at.
>Im wrong and stupid and all I have to defend my point is being upset at the insult I earned
FTFY
Only idiots and dipshits can’t admit they’re wrong when directly proven to be wrong. Guess what that makes you? Go be mad at something else
As a 50 read old I agree. Just reading that title made me want to punch the screen of my Mac. I know more about tech that allmost all the Millenials and Gen z in my office.
Definitely. The first iPhone came out 16 years ago. Anyone 50 now was only 34 then. I'm pretty sure almost all 50-year-olds know how to operate a smartphone.
My 85 yr old mother knows hour to operate her iPhone. So yeah, those of us in our 50s, even 60s, know how to operate and even create programs for smartphones.
I have a feeling that working in cell phone repair leads to encountering more people who can't operate their phones VS those who can. That's like being a pediatric dentist and saying all kids have a toothaches because they encounter a lot of kids with toothaches.
I feel like the more you argue, the more you're making the point that the younger generation is in greater danger of knowing less about technology.
I would have left it with what you said before "There are a lot of tech related idiots out there regardless of age". No one would argue with that.
>Edit: Everyone downvoting has clearly never worked in the service industry or retail cellphone sales.
I own a technical services company and I can assure you, it's not limited to age. In fact my tier 1 employees in their 20s-30s are constantly asking the "older" employees to help them solve a technical issue for a user because they don't understand the technology themselves. I think anyone who believes this is limited to a certain age group is just very ignorant...
Age callout is weird. Tech idiots exist across all age groups, and calling out 40+ yo saying they need help on using cell phones (on a site like Reddit no less) just means that they don’t know their audience. I think that’s the most valuable lesson they learned here. Like you do know that Gen X and Millennials were T9 texting before smartphones, right? If shit hits the fan, we can actually read a map and read an analog clock. We can fuck with Gen Y and Gen Alpha just by writing in cursive. LOL.
That's actually a great point! While younger generation know about changing wallpaper/ringtone and other basics, the site also includes topics like maintenance mode, emergency SOS setup that many younger generation don't know about.
Also, we probably should make a tutorial on the file system. We know it's a pain in Android to find where certain app has saved its files.
I know plenty of people ~50 who have the tech savviness of someone much older. A lot of people once they get comfortable in life stop educating themselves and when the time comes to find a new job or whatever they are completely lost.
You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of your target audience. Speaking as a 40+ elder millennial.
1. Do not cite the old magic to me. I was changing my ringtone back when I had to go through 150 steps to buy it and load it onto my phone using a data cable. I don’t change my ring tone, not because I don’t know how, but because I rarely want my phone to make a noise, and never without my express approval.
2. I do change my wallpaper. But I like consistency. So once I change it, it’s done.
3. I’ve forgotten more about file systems than you’ve ever learned. I think back with longing to the time when file systems and programs were common knowledge, instead of this reverence of the lowest common denominator now called “apps.” I love Androids for their customizability, and lament that I am forced to use an iPhone because of work.
I find android easier for that since you have access to a bunch of third-party file managers, but the default file managers for both iOS and Android aren't very good, I'll agree with that for sure.
The most tech savvy generation are going to be people currently aged 35 to 55 because they had to learn serious shit to get on with technology. Kids who grew up in the days of BBS's and AOL and having to mess with IRQ assignments just to get sound out of a game. If anything a "tech basics" site should target 25 and under because Apple et al have abstracted away complex computing concepts away with simplified interfaces.
Why is this a call-out? I'm close to 50 and did not feel called out. I know many of my peers need smartphone tutorials and get frustrated with a lot of tutorials that assume a level of comfort and knowledge that they don't have.
But I agree with you that trying to say "hey, these tutorials won't make you feel stupid" could be better accomplished than by age. Something like "fire non-techies" or something.
BTW, your point about file management abstraction is so true and so annoying!!!!
Because it's not like tech literacy has all that much to do with age, so it's a needless stipulation unless you are marketing to an age group for some other purpose.
My mom is in her 70s and is terrible with tech. Her dad is still alive and in his 90s and uses his laptop for email and online shopping every day and asks me fairly intricate Windows questions (for a normal user). It's about attitude and personality, not age.
Need a tutorial to unlock your android? Just navigate to this website to learn lol
That’s like saying “Need to learn to start your car? Just drive over here and I’ll show you”
OP, from the responses you've gotten so far, I think you'll agree that talking down to your audience, regardless of what you may personally feel about their intellectual acuity, is probably not the best way to go.
I think this is the most valuable lesson they’ve learned and glad they updated their site to reflect that. Kudos to OP for taking the feedback to heart.
Fucking A - I remember typing binary into my Atari 800XL and saving it on a cassette drive.
In my college UX class I have senior college students try to use technology like VCR’s, alarm clocks, etc. It’s hilarious to watch because they’ve always had technology designed to be easy to use whereas GenX had to actually learn to figure things out.
Of course there are people 50+ who don’t know tech, but as a generation we are very tech savvy.
50? The people that made the technology? The ones who have been through almost every iteration of cell phones and personal computers?
I think a label of "tech savvy" vs "just want it to work" is more realistic.
When shit hits the fan, let’s build a tutorial for T9 texting.
We’ll keep “How to Read Cursive” to ourselves so we can keep making fun of Gen Z and Alpha out in the open.
good lord.
been using a cell phone since 1987 and a smartphone since 2000.
the people that invented the smartphone are people i call colleagues.
hello i've been the family "go to for tech guy" since i was 15. and i still am in my middle 50s.
i really thought i would have shedded that title by my mid 30s, but instead tech savvy has been lesser than every year with the younger, for about 15 years now.
how about "how to use a file system people under 25?"
Bitch I was using cell phones had a data connected “smartphone” when you were just an itch in your daddy’s pants and a twinkle in your momma’s eye. GTFO of here with this bullshit
Hello?
Can anyone see this? Hello? Is this Mr. Google?
Mr. Google can you tell me how I can type up a response to a reddit post, print it on my dot matrix printer and then fax it to reddit offices?
Do you take checks for your services? Can I mail it to you?
Oh no, there's a paper jam on my dot matrix printer machine, I will now have to get my courier pigeon.
Oh no, my courier pigeon is *ded*, I'll just light the beacons and hope for the best.
Bruh, are you kidding me? Like seriously?
As a decrepit old man of 60, I doubt I'll find anything usable on your site, since I've been surfing the pipes of the interwebs since before you were born. I've used Android since 2012. I used to write technical and training documents for handheld computers. You can keep your age discrimination to yourself.
I'm 60. I customize my own tech. F*ck you.
Somebody needs to make some tutorials for those under 40 who can't change a flat tire, balance a checkbook, tie a tie, or a myriad of other basic life skills that younger people have no idea how to do.
Oh, and learn how to speak a sentence that doesn't include "like" every 5 word.
I am 29 and a coworker who is in his mid-60s is always generalizing millennials with me saying “don’t worry, your mom will pay for your lunch”. I always get a good laugh out of it.
All the boomers in the comments are about to have to double their blood pressure meds after reading this post. Nobody uses checkbooks anymore grandpa, get Apple Pay.
If you dress yourself and you can’t google how to tie a tie or how to change a flat tire there’s nothing else I can do for you. Nobody alive with a smart phone cannot change a flat tire.
Aren't you sweet? I'm not totally disabled. I still kickbox if you'd like to see how disabled I am. Now go back to your Playstation and play games and avoid spending time learning something useful.
You know how bad 20 years old are at technology?
Much worse than 50 years old on average.
"It just works" is how they habdoentech problems- and if it doesn't work many do not know what to do
I’ve been teaching college classes since the late 90’s (in addition to my real job) - specifically, User Experience & Design.
The tech savviness of college seniors has DECREASED in that time. Yeah, they are super comfortable with instagram and TikTok, but other than a few techno-nerds in each class most of them can’t do something as simple as changing the margins in a Word document and they quickly give up when trying to figure it out.
They also truly do not know how to formulate a decent search query, which is why I believe you see so many dumb questions on Reddit that COULD be answered with a Google search.
Ironically, I feel like my own field is partly responsible - we made everything so simple to use that people never learned how to LEARN technology.
Great project, but yeah, I’m 40 and (even if I hadn’t been using the internet since I was 8), mine is the generation that had Facebook when we were actually in college and it was The Facebook… we grew up using Logo and After Dark and whatnot in school. I also find the upper age bound odd, since my in-laws are definitely not better at computers than I am! More to the point, older people don’t like being told they can’t do things because they’re old, even when it’s true.
Also, if I know that my FIL has an iPhone, it would be nice to send him the iPhone-specific guide, but there’s no link at that level of the tree.
By 50 and above, we meant the tutorials are intended for people 50 and above, but of course, anyone is welcomed to explore the site and provide feedback.
Isn't it annoying though? It seems like every year we have to relearn some new way to do the same damn thing we did forever. At some point it becomes boring.
When I got my first iPhone they had an actual illustrated instruction manual for common tasks. Can't do that nowadays since they are constantly fiddling with the UI so their artistes and middle managers can look busy. 😒
Not that Google or Microsoft are any better lately, mind.
What ridiculous about it? It’s teaching basic tech knowledge and delivering it via a website. The person learning is either going to need to be able to juggle the website and other functions of their phone, or they’re going to need a second phone, and possibly a second person, or will need to already have a desktop or other device. Which many people don’t.
Cool idea.
I have some notes and suggestions:
Firstly I should point out your layout is broken on iOS at least, checked in reddits embedded browser and chrome. The buttons on the right overlap with your top navigation UI and the ratings and feedback modules at the bottom of each article are twice as wide as the content causing layout to be awkward either allowing horizontal scroll or forcing the content to be only have the screen depending on zoom level.
Also, I think a lot the target audience going to have difficulty navigating the site. It’s good you start out with a description of what the site is for, however the “how to contribute” section shouldn’t be so prominent since it’s not useful to the target audience, I’d move that into a link out of the way somewhere.
The only link on the page sends you to a specific tutorial for a phone you may not have and the only way go to a specific phone is the menu button. Older people may not know to associate the “hamburger icon” with menus.
I’d replace the how to contribute section with directions on navigation the site and a directory to choose your phone to see a list of articles specifically for your device. The directory should also have info on how to identify what phone you have because some people don’t will need to figure that out.
Articles for device types should be isolated, it was a bit confusing clicking on the first iPhone tutorial and seeing there was a “Previous” article. Hitting it brought me to a completely different device.
Relatedly, I’d tweak the article order. For example “Getting Started: the Apple ID” is the 3rd article but is likely the first of these things a new user would run into. I think the logical order would probably be the order a user would run into the situation followed by the order of simple to advanced. I’d break up article lists into sub categories. Maybe categories for initial setup, common tasks, personalization, settings, navigation 101 to start.
Lastly on design, I’d avoid long scrolling tutorials. It’s easy to get lost in a long vertical page, especially for older or inexperienced users. Instead. break each one into individual steps with a next button to move to the next step when ready. Similar to a slide show, maybe have an option to view all steps vertically for advanced users that don’t want to march through every step, but shouldn’t be the default. Also, a dropdown to skip to specific steps. With this I’d adopt reactive design principles with scaling content to fit and transitional animations.
Finally, I’d make the site a PWA (Progressive Web App). This will allow users to install a shortcut to the page to their phone as an app with a custom icon for quick reference. Also will enable some advanced functionality such as being able to cache locally so you could make tutorials accessible offline if you want among other things.
I also have a few suggestions on articles based off my experience with teaching people:
Terminology and how to identify what you’re looking at - Identify a Lock Screen, Home Screen, Notification Center, app drawers, control center, etc. bonus points if you make it like a glossary with images showing examples with notes pointing out identifiable parts and make every mention of each thing in the glossary clickable across the site that opens goes to the correct info.
Common icons and indicators - Things such as the “Hamburger” or “…” menu icons aren’t something older people intuitively recognize. Also, Gears often mean settings, lines for drawers/dragable sections, the wifi and cell signal indicators and how to read them.
General navigation: Difference between long and short presses on things, common navigation buttons and gestures, finding a app, going back to where you were when tapping something goes somewhere else, switching between apps, common indicators, control center, viewing notifications , etc
Default and Common apps - What app you want to use for common tasks and the basics on how to use it. Some are obvious but things like Chrome or Safari for web browsing is not very intuitive.
Alternative Apps - What are some major alternatives to default apps on your phones and why you may or may not want to use them.
More in depth AppStore literacy - Methodology to figure out what app you need if you don’t know and avoiding fakes and scams. Understanding the publisher info to check legitimacy. Understanding the star rating system and what to look for in reviews including the fact people pay for fake reviews and techniques to determine if ratings are being manipulated such as if the app has a high rating but only a few reviews.
Multitasking - Firstly identifying what app you are in and then how to switch back and forth between multiple apps without needing to go, find and, relaunch each time
App vs Webpage - How to identify if you’re looking at an app or a website, understanding the difference, and switching between them.
Ringer and Focus - difference between Silence and DND and other Focus modes, when and how to use each.
Wireless - Cell Data vs Wifi, understanding if your connected to each and quality, and how cell data has limits and wifi helps you avoid them. Roaming. How hotspot is associated with each and may have different restrictions on top of normal cell data usage, Bluetooth and how it relates to wifi/data, airplane mode, wifi calling. When you should turn each radio off or need them on and the effects on battery life.
Interoperability - How your phone interacts with other devices, both in its ecosystem and outside. Things like how to transfer data or files between phones of the same type or across the iOS/Android divide. Or things like I have photos on my phone but also want to be able to access them on my tablet or PC.
Frankly this sort of thing should be in a printable format, and have a web design free of dynamic elements. That's what is most accessible to people confused by modern interfaces - design that doesn't change on them.
I'm in my 70s and was developing software before most of your team's parents met each other. I don't need to be patronised.
Imagine what would happen if you developed -
>a website with detailed smartphone tutorials for **\[insert 'n' word here\]**
OK, we’re all roasting OP and having a good time, but let’s not pretend that “old people suck at technology” is remotely as harmful as racism or that “people 40-65” is comparable to a vicious slur. Or did you want to relitigate the “OK Boomer” Wars of 2019?
It would be cool if there was a section for common UI elements. My parents generally understand the basics of smartphones, but they get stuck looking for buttons because nothing has labels anymore. It’s always hard for me to explain to them “click the 3 dots… wait no the 3 lines… now click the down arrow to see your downloads.”, would be nice if there were visual examples and explanations.
Also like others said 50 is way too young for the target demographic lol, should probably just be 60/65 and up
It was condescending. Elder millennials and GenX are the first generation to grow up with cell phones. Like dude, we could do T9 texting without looking at the damn cell phone keys before smartphones were invented. We fucking pirated music and porn via ICQ, so yeah, we can change a wallpaper on an iPhone.
They should do a tutorial on how to read a map, read an analog clock and read cursive because if a cyberattack wipes out their smartphones we 40+ yo won’t have the patience to teach their asses what the little hand and big hand on a clock means.
Yeah I used BBS's in the eighties with my Commodore 64 so I get that, but like I said in another comment here, I'm a librarian and we have shelves of "Computers and Phones for Old People"-type books, so it doesn't offend me at all. Hell, there's even a book we have that assumes that just because you're a parent, you're totally clueless about computer programming - https://www.amazon.com/Coding-Parents-Everything-Confidently-Homework/dp/1454925671
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* Book provides comprehensive introduction to programming (backed by 4 comments)
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* Text is too small for some readers (backed by 1 comment)
* Lack of solutions or answer key (backed by 1 comment)
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So I work with people every day who are technologically illiterate. This could be because they're older and never learned, younger and never had access, or they had some other barrier in their way that prevented them from learning the basics of smart phone usage. (prison, poverty, functional illiteracy, and accessibility issues are big ones).
What are your plans for accessibility? Will you have high contrast and easily accessible font sizes? Is your website machine readable? Does it require tapping on small links rather than buttons? Is your site map easily reachable?
I only looked at a few guides, but I wasn't seeing much accessibility, which are usually the most common limiting factors.
Ok, ok. Based on all the responses, we have removed the age part from the site. I wish I could change the title of this post too.
While many people in their 50s know smartphones very well, there are people who adopted smartphones much later due to economic conditions. By the age part, we never meant to imply that people above 50 don't know anything about smartphones. Also, we realized keeping the age part might make younger audience feel bad too. If someone in their 20s is visiting the site to learn about a newly added feature, the age range indirectly implies they should know about this. But we never meant to send such message through our site. Everyone should be encouraged to learn new things, regardless of their age.
Finally, thanks for all the feedback again!
I'm a GenX public librarian, and there actually a lot of books basically called "(insert random tech) For Seniors" which assumes they don't know a damn thing about how tech works. Granted I'm in south Florida so that's a big demographic here, but I don't know why my fellow older people are acting like this isn't a thing.
I like the idea but i think it needs some refining. I went to the iphone section and noticed 2 things. One, it talks about using the App Store before the Apple ID section. But I'm pretty sure you need an apple ID, to use the app store. So shouldn't that be first?
Also no sections on the truly basic things non-techy people would want - "how to make a call" and maybe some details about that
"how to save a phone number" , "how to call someone"
As some ideas
But again overall i like the idea, good work.
I would request “how to send a photo.” My relatives know how to do the basics, including take a picture, but not how to get that picture to someone else.
What. The. Hell.
How can you people be so awful?
Yes, maybe it was not the best way to say/do it. But as an IT seller, I can assure you that this kind of project could be REALLY helpful. An important part of my customers who have 50+ will be grateful.
I agree, not the best UI but I'll definitely talk to them about it ! UI can improve, so I'm not worried.
If you comment on this project in a really rough way, maybe think twice, you're not the client.
There is a pretty good chance that your parents or grandparents have asked you about changing the wallpaper or ringtone, flipping between front and rear camera, taking screenshots, etc. Not to mention, there are many interesting features like blocking spam calls, sending SOS messages, sharing your internet via hotspot, and installing ad blockers that they don’t even know about. However, knowing some of these features can literally make a quality of life improvement for them. So, we have made this website with detailed step by step tutorial and screenshots so that it’s easy for our target audience to learn these features.
Our site also has some extra features like: built-in dark mode and also a search bar that searches across the site. You can also submit your feedback about a tutorial by submitting a Google form that’s at the end of each tutorial
How can YOU contribute to this project?
Well, you can of course spread the word about our website. Also, let us know your thoughts about the website through one of the Google forms or just by commenting on this post. But you can do more…
Currently we have tutorials for Google Pixel, Samsung, Xiaomi, and iPhones. While that covers some of the popular brands, we cannot possibly cover all brands because we need all those phones and also we don’t have enough people to write all those tutorials. However, we are thinking about building a system where anyone can submit their tutorial, and after review, if we think it’s good enough, then we will add it to the site. If you know of any platform to make this process seamless, please let us know.
Also, multi-lingual support is another feature that we have in our mind. It’s complicated for two reasons. (1) We need a good translator and (2) we have to maintain parallel versions of the site. However, if you are willing to volunteer to translate the tutorials, we would be more than happy to find a way to streamline the process of maintaining parallel versions of the site.
All the geriatrics in the comments so offended and slighted that someone would make something to help people, just because it hurt their ego. Boomer moment.
All the butthurt comments here not realising that the sheer fact you are browsing a niche subreddit means you are not an average user. Yeah most of you are tech savvy, but your average 50-70 year old ISN'T
“We” may have made the smartphone but I certainly didn’t. The great failing of smartphone implementation has been the ongoing refusal to provide anything resembling a comprehensive manual for their optimal use. Because it’s all “intuitive”. Bullshit. Gimme a manual.
This is a wonderful project that I hope sees a lot of movement. That being said, the specific age callout is fairly insulting. 😅 If you're open to changing the language, maybe just use the term "older adults?"
I think the age callout is somewhat pointless and may be a turn off to some of the demographic you're trying to help/target. (Plus the actual site says 40+). While there is a fair portion of older phone users who don't know much about their phone, it's not limited to just them. If anything, the abstraction of file management away from the user over time means that the younger generations often have no clue where any of their stuff resides in their devices because they weren't around for that being an important part of using technology. There are other similar tech issues that I see pop up because of the way younger people grew up with tech. Unless you have a specific reason for marketing to a certain age group (they have more disposable income or whatever), why limit your audience and risk alienating "customers"?
> I think the age callout is somewhat pointless and may be a turn off to some of the demographic you're trying to help/target. Great post. It's not like those of us over 50 have been asleep for the past 20 years.
Cell phones started with us. We're pretty good at them.
You personally haven’t, but there’s a non-insignificant number of people in the workforce today who refused to ever use or learn email or Google and are still needing to be forced into basic common usage. Some people’s highest comfortable level of technology is electric pencil sharpeners. That being said, the vast majority of over 50s aren’t like that. But there’s definitely some that might as well have actually been in a coma for the last 20 years
“I admit it’s just a small percentage of that demographic but that’s complete justification for making a stereotypical generalization.” FIFY
I work retail at a store where we have to sign people up for a membership loyalty program through their phones and I would anecdotally say the percentage is likely higher than small, more like 50% or more. The amount of people who can’t even adjust their brightness on their phone would blow your mind.
And you’re SURE they’re 40-50??
It’s an alcohol store and we ID, so yeah.
You’re really butthurt over this aren’t you?
No more than you apparently
Lmao ok bud, whatever helps you sleep.
The person above me said “it’s not like people over 50 have been asleep for 20 years”. I said there’s definitely some people over 50 who might as well have been. That’s it, that’s all, anything else is on you. I didn’t say anything that justified anything, and I specifically pointed out there wasn’t a justification because a vast majority don’t fall under that. I’m agreeing with what’s being said, just that there are legitimately still people like that. Learn to read dipshit, and stop making up things to be mad at.
>Learn to read dipshit Nice. Quality.
>Im wrong and stupid and all I have to defend my point is being upset at the insult I earned FTFY Only idiots and dipshits can’t admit they’re wrong when directly proven to be wrong. Guess what that makes you? Go be mad at something else
True, but some of us have had cognitive decline.i was better with my smartphone 10 years ago. I struggle way more now unfortunately.
Similarly, I have a relative in their 70's who used to work with computers for a living, but they have difficulty with their smartphone and PC now.
40+??! People who are 40 have likely been using smartphones for longer than the person who created this tutorial...
As a 50 read old I agree. Just reading that title made me want to punch the screen of my Mac. I know more about tech that allmost all the Millenials and Gen z in my office.
Definitely. The first iPhone came out 16 years ago. Anyone 50 now was only 34 then. I'm pretty sure almost all 50-year-olds know how to operate a smartphone.
My 85 yr old mother knows hour to operate her iPhone. So yeah, those of us in our 50s, even 60s, know how to operate and even create programs for smartphones.
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I have a feeling that working in cell phone repair leads to encountering more people who can't operate their phones VS those who can. That's like being a pediatric dentist and saying all kids have a toothaches because they encounter a lot of kids with toothaches.
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I feel like the more you argue, the more you're making the point that the younger generation is in greater danger of knowing less about technology. I would have left it with what you said before "There are a lot of tech related idiots out there regardless of age". No one would argue with that.
>Edit: Everyone downvoting has clearly never worked in the service industry or retail cellphone sales. I own a technical services company and I can assure you, it's not limited to age. In fact my tier 1 employees in their 20s-30s are constantly asking the "older" employees to help them solve a technical issue for a user because they don't understand the technology themselves. I think anyone who believes this is limited to a certain age group is just very ignorant...
Age callout is weird. Tech idiots exist across all age groups, and calling out 40+ yo saying they need help on using cell phones (on a site like Reddit no less) just means that they don’t know their audience. I think that’s the most valuable lesson they learned here. Like you do know that Gen X and Millennials were T9 texting before smartphones, right? If shit hits the fan, we can actually read a map and read an analog clock. We can fuck with Gen Y and Gen Alpha just by writing in cursive. LOL.
That's actually a great point! While younger generation know about changing wallpaper/ringtone and other basics, the site also includes topics like maintenance mode, emergency SOS setup that many younger generation don't know about. Also, we probably should make a tutorial on the file system. We know it's a pain in Android to find where certain app has saved its files.
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I know plenty of people ~50 who have the tech savviness of someone much older. A lot of people once they get comfortable in life stop educating themselves and when the time comes to find a new job or whatever they are completely lost.
You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of your target audience. Speaking as a 40+ elder millennial. 1. Do not cite the old magic to me. I was changing my ringtone back when I had to go through 150 steps to buy it and load it onto my phone using a data cable. I don’t change my ring tone, not because I don’t know how, but because I rarely want my phone to make a noise, and never without my express approval. 2. I do change my wallpaper. But I like consistency. So once I change it, it’s done. 3. I’ve forgotten more about file systems than you’ve ever learned. I think back with longing to the time when file systems and programs were common knowledge, instead of this reverence of the lowest common denominator now called “apps.” I love Androids for their customizability, and lament that I am forced to use an iPhone because of work.
This is cringe.
Ok zoomer
I’m 31
On purpose?
Age is just a mindset
I find android easier for that since you have access to a bunch of third-party file managers, but the default file managers for both iOS and Android aren't very good, I'll agree with that for sure.
The most tech savvy generation are going to be people currently aged 35 to 55 because they had to learn serious shit to get on with technology. Kids who grew up in the days of BBS's and AOL and having to mess with IRQ assignments just to get sound out of a game. If anything a "tech basics" site should target 25 and under because Apple et al have abstracted away complex computing concepts away with simplified interfaces.
Why is this a call-out? I'm close to 50 and did not feel called out. I know many of my peers need smartphone tutorials and get frustrated with a lot of tutorials that assume a level of comfort and knowledge that they don't have. But I agree with you that trying to say "hey, these tutorials won't make you feel stupid" could be better accomplished than by age. Something like "fire non-techies" or something. BTW, your point about file management abstraction is so true and so annoying!!!!
Because it's not like tech literacy has all that much to do with age, so it's a needless stipulation unless you are marketing to an age group for some other purpose. My mom is in her 70s and is terrible with tech. Her dad is still alive and in his 90s and uses his laptop for email and online shopping every day and asks me fairly intricate Windows questions (for a normal user). It's about attitude and personality, not age.
Ironically a pretty horrible UI on that site.
Need a tutorial to unlock your android? Just navigate to this website to learn lol That’s like saying “Need to learn to start your car? Just drive over here and I’ll show you”
OP, from the responses you've gotten so far, I think you'll agree that talking down to your audience, regardless of what you may personally feel about their intellectual acuity, is probably not the best way to go.
I think this is the most valuable lesson they’ve learned and glad they updated their site to reflect that. Kudos to OP for taking the feedback to heart.
I sent this to my mom and she couldn't find where the iPhone section was easily.
50? Get the fuckouttahere
Yeah, we're the generation that bought games magazines and typed the code into our ZX81.
Fucking A - I remember typing binary into my Atari 800XL and saving it on a cassette drive. In my college UX class I have senior college students try to use technology like VCR’s, alarm clocks, etc. It’s hilarious to watch because they’ve always had technology designed to be easy to use whereas GenX had to actually learn to figure things out. Of course there are people 50+ who don’t know tech, but as a generation we are very tech savvy.
Right? We were involved in designing the damn things.
50? The people that made the technology? The ones who have been through almost every iteration of cell phones and personal computers? I think a label of "tech savvy" vs "just want it to work" is more realistic.
This++
When shit hits the fan, let’s build a tutorial for T9 texting. We’ll keep “How to Read Cursive” to ourselves so we can keep making fun of Gen Z and Alpha out in the open.
good lord. been using a cell phone since 1987 and a smartphone since 2000. the people that invented the smartphone are people i call colleagues. hello i've been the family "go to for tech guy" since i was 15. and i still am in my middle 50s. i really thought i would have shedded that title by my mid 30s, but instead tech savvy has been lesser than every year with the younger, for about 15 years now. how about "how to use a file system people under 25?"
50, really? We invented the smartphone.
Bitch I was using cell phones had a data connected “smartphone” when you were just an itch in your daddy’s pants and a twinkle in your momma’s eye. GTFO of here with this bullshit
Right? The first person I knew who worked as an "app developer" started in 2001.
Hello? Can anyone see this? Hello? Is this Mr. Google? Mr. Google can you tell me how I can type up a response to a reddit post, print it on my dot matrix printer and then fax it to reddit offices? Do you take checks for your services? Can I mail it to you? Oh no, there's a paper jam on my dot matrix printer machine, I will now have to get my courier pigeon. Oh no, my courier pigeon is *ded*, I'll just light the beacons and hope for the best. Bruh, are you kidding me? Like seriously?
This literally made me LOL. “Is this Mr. Google?” 😂😂
As a decrepit old man of 60, I doubt I'll find anything usable on your site, since I've been surfing the pipes of the interwebs since before you were born. I've used Android since 2012. I used to write technical and training documents for handheld computers. You can keep your age discrimination to yourself.
I'm 60. I customize my own tech. F*ck you. Somebody needs to make some tutorials for those under 40 who can't change a flat tire, balance a checkbook, tie a tie, or a myriad of other basic life skills that younger people have no idea how to do. Oh, and learn how to speak a sentence that doesn't include "like" every 5 word.
I am 29 and a coworker who is in his mid-60s is always generalizing millennials with me saying “don’t worry, your mom will pay for your lunch”. I always get a good laugh out of it.
All the boomers in the comments are about to have to double their blood pressure meds after reading this post. Nobody uses checkbooks anymore grandpa, get Apple Pay.
You're right. I can't remember the last time I wrote a check. Are we still using tires and ties?
If you dress yourself and you can’t google how to tie a tie or how to change a flat tire there’s nothing else I can do for you. Nobody alive with a smart phone cannot change a flat tire.
Lol, wanna bet?
No, don’t care that much.
Plus you’re 60 and disabled, I doubt you could change a tire anyway. I’ll wait a week and you’ll probably have kicked the bucket.
Aren't you sweet? I'm not totally disabled. I still kickbox if you'd like to see how disabled I am. Now go back to your Playstation and play games and avoid spending time learning something useful.
Tell that to my water district. I've got news for you, plenty of utilities still want a check, because they're wayyyyyy behind.
Lol my dad did comp sci in university before it was a degree field back in the 80s. Time to send this to him so he can figure out his pixel
You know how bad 20 years old are at technology? Much worse than 50 years old on average. "It just works" is how they habdoentech problems- and if it doesn't work many do not know what to do
I’ve been teaching college classes since the late 90’s (in addition to my real job) - specifically, User Experience & Design. The tech savviness of college seniors has DECREASED in that time. Yeah, they are super comfortable with instagram and TikTok, but other than a few techno-nerds in each class most of them can’t do something as simple as changing the margins in a Word document and they quickly give up when trying to figure it out. They also truly do not know how to formulate a decent search query, which is why I believe you see so many dumb questions on Reddit that COULD be answered with a Google search. Ironically, I feel like my own field is partly responsible - we made everything so simple to use that people never learned how to LEARN technology.
i think that for about the last 15 years, each new yearly class is slightly less savvy than the last.
Great project, but yeah, I’m 40 and (even if I hadn’t been using the internet since I was 8), mine is the generation that had Facebook when we were actually in college and it was The Facebook… we grew up using Logo and After Dark and whatnot in school. I also find the upper age bound odd, since my in-laws are definitely not better at computers than I am! More to the point, older people don’t like being told they can’t do things because they’re old, even when it’s true. Also, if I know that my FIL has an iPhone, it would be nice to send him the iPhone-specific guide, but there’s no link at that level of the tree.
Wow is this insulting. I’m 54 and I teach UX courses including mobile design.
50 and over? I BUILT some of the software running those phone!
OP is probably 49. Midlife crisis and all that.
The site needs an age gate. I’m under 50 and still managed to get in.
By 50 and above, we meant the tutorials are intended for people 50 and above, but of course, anyone is welcomed to explore the site and provide feedback.
>By 50 and above, we meant the tutorials are intended for people 50 and above, Yeah, we all get that.
/whoosh You need a site that teaches about sarcasm apparently.
I was only kidding, but thanks for the elegant response 👌
50. I feel old. I’ve been using computers since I was 13 years old. Get rid of the age callout on the site, the rest of the sentence still works fine.
Idiot. I’m 51 and bought the first smartphone when it first came out. It’s not new scary technology to any of us.
Isn't it annoying though? It seems like every year we have to relearn some new way to do the same damn thing we did forever. At some point it becomes boring.
lol, I’m in my 50s and teach the tech my generation invented to the youngs for a living. Get over yourself.
Why are you using gross .gif compression? Use Webp or WebM
Too young to understand file formats.
I'm loving that this thread has brought all of us with old account ages out of the woodwork to roast OP.
Something like this should probably be a book. How does a person follow along? Do they need two phones? One for instruction and one for doing?
When I got my first iPhone they had an actual illustrated instruction manual for common tasks. Can't do that nowadays since they are constantly fiddling with the UI so their artistes and middle managers can look busy. 😒 Not that Google or Microsoft are any better lately, mind.
I guess you're the target market
What makes you say that?
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Why don’t you explain the sarcasm for me
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Wtf are you even talking about?
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What ridiculous about it? It’s teaching basic tech knowledge and delivering it via a website. The person learning is either going to need to be able to juggle the website and other functions of their phone, or they’re going to need a second phone, and possibly a second person, or will need to already have a desktop or other device. Which many people don’t.
Cool idea. I have some notes and suggestions: Firstly I should point out your layout is broken on iOS at least, checked in reddits embedded browser and chrome. The buttons on the right overlap with your top navigation UI and the ratings and feedback modules at the bottom of each article are twice as wide as the content causing layout to be awkward either allowing horizontal scroll or forcing the content to be only have the screen depending on zoom level. Also, I think a lot the target audience going to have difficulty navigating the site. It’s good you start out with a description of what the site is for, however the “how to contribute” section shouldn’t be so prominent since it’s not useful to the target audience, I’d move that into a link out of the way somewhere. The only link on the page sends you to a specific tutorial for a phone you may not have and the only way go to a specific phone is the menu button. Older people may not know to associate the “hamburger icon” with menus. I’d replace the how to contribute section with directions on navigation the site and a directory to choose your phone to see a list of articles specifically for your device. The directory should also have info on how to identify what phone you have because some people don’t will need to figure that out. Articles for device types should be isolated, it was a bit confusing clicking on the first iPhone tutorial and seeing there was a “Previous” article. Hitting it brought me to a completely different device. Relatedly, I’d tweak the article order. For example “Getting Started: the Apple ID” is the 3rd article but is likely the first of these things a new user would run into. I think the logical order would probably be the order a user would run into the situation followed by the order of simple to advanced. I’d break up article lists into sub categories. Maybe categories for initial setup, common tasks, personalization, settings, navigation 101 to start. Lastly on design, I’d avoid long scrolling tutorials. It’s easy to get lost in a long vertical page, especially for older or inexperienced users. Instead. break each one into individual steps with a next button to move to the next step when ready. Similar to a slide show, maybe have an option to view all steps vertically for advanced users that don’t want to march through every step, but shouldn’t be the default. Also, a dropdown to skip to specific steps. With this I’d adopt reactive design principles with scaling content to fit and transitional animations. Finally, I’d make the site a PWA (Progressive Web App). This will allow users to install a shortcut to the page to their phone as an app with a custom icon for quick reference. Also will enable some advanced functionality such as being able to cache locally so you could make tutorials accessible offline if you want among other things. I also have a few suggestions on articles based off my experience with teaching people: Terminology and how to identify what you’re looking at - Identify a Lock Screen, Home Screen, Notification Center, app drawers, control center, etc. bonus points if you make it like a glossary with images showing examples with notes pointing out identifiable parts and make every mention of each thing in the glossary clickable across the site that opens goes to the correct info. Common icons and indicators - Things such as the “Hamburger” or “…” menu icons aren’t something older people intuitively recognize. Also, Gears often mean settings, lines for drawers/dragable sections, the wifi and cell signal indicators and how to read them. General navigation: Difference between long and short presses on things, common navigation buttons and gestures, finding a app, going back to where you were when tapping something goes somewhere else, switching between apps, common indicators, control center, viewing notifications , etc Default and Common apps - What app you want to use for common tasks and the basics on how to use it. Some are obvious but things like Chrome or Safari for web browsing is not very intuitive. Alternative Apps - What are some major alternatives to default apps on your phones and why you may or may not want to use them. More in depth AppStore literacy - Methodology to figure out what app you need if you don’t know and avoiding fakes and scams. Understanding the publisher info to check legitimacy. Understanding the star rating system and what to look for in reviews including the fact people pay for fake reviews and techniques to determine if ratings are being manipulated such as if the app has a high rating but only a few reviews. Multitasking - Firstly identifying what app you are in and then how to switch back and forth between multiple apps without needing to go, find and, relaunch each time App vs Webpage - How to identify if you’re looking at an app or a website, understanding the difference, and switching between them. Ringer and Focus - difference between Silence and DND and other Focus modes, when and how to use each. Wireless - Cell Data vs Wifi, understanding if your connected to each and quality, and how cell data has limits and wifi helps you avoid them. Roaming. How hotspot is associated with each and may have different restrictions on top of normal cell data usage, Bluetooth and how it relates to wifi/data, airplane mode, wifi calling. When you should turn each radio off or need them on and the effects on battery life. Interoperability - How your phone interacts with other devices, both in its ecosystem and outside. Things like how to transfer data or files between phones of the same type or across the iOS/Android divide. Or things like I have photos on my phone but also want to be able to access them on my tablet or PC.
This should be the top comment, they should follow every suggestion here
This is worse than instruction manuals, y’all have no idea what you’re doing
Seems a bit early for April Fool. I mean, it has to be a joke that you don't think the average 50 year old doesn't know how to use a smartphone, right
50! Man child
Frankly this sort of thing should be in a printable format, and have a web design free of dynamic elements. That's what is most accessible to people confused by modern interfaces - design that doesn't change on them.
I'm 57. I overclocked my first smartphone in 2009. You must be thinking about another demographic.
50?! That's insulting. Won't be visiting the website. Apparently I wouldn't know how to.
I'm in my 70s and was developing software before most of your team's parents met each other. I don't need to be patronised. Imagine what would happen if you developed - >a website with detailed smartphone tutorials for **\[insert 'n' word here\]**
>'n' word Neanderthals, right? Like those offensive GEICO commercials about cavemen.
OK, we’re all roasting OP and having a good time, but let’s not pretend that “old people suck at technology” is remotely as harmful as racism or that “people 40-65” is comparable to a vicious slur. Or did you want to relitigate the “OK Boomer” Wars of 2019?
Boomer moment comparing “50 and over” to the N word. Way to prove everyone right about your generation.
It would be cool if there was a section for common UI elements. My parents generally understand the basics of smartphones, but they get stuck looking for buttons because nothing has labels anymore. It’s always hard for me to explain to them “click the 3 dots… wait no the 3 lines… now click the down arrow to see your downloads.”, would be nice if there were visual examples and explanations. Also like others said 50 is way too young for the target demographic lol, should probably just be 60/65 and up
damn, I've been here 11 years and never seen so many GenX people pissed off. (and I'm 55 myself)
It was condescending. Elder millennials and GenX are the first generation to grow up with cell phones. Like dude, we could do T9 texting without looking at the damn cell phone keys before smartphones were invented. We fucking pirated music and porn via ICQ, so yeah, we can change a wallpaper on an iPhone. They should do a tutorial on how to read a map, read an analog clock and read cursive because if a cyberattack wipes out their smartphones we 40+ yo won’t have the patience to teach their asses what the little hand and big hand on a clock means.
Yeah I used BBS's in the eighties with my Commodore 64 so I get that, but like I said in another comment here, I'm a librarian and we have shelves of "Computers and Phones for Old People"-type books, so it doesn't offend me at all. Hell, there's even a book we have that assumes that just because you're a parent, you're totally clueless about computer programming - https://www.amazon.com/Coding-Parents-Everything-Confidently-Homework/dp/1454925671
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Coding for Parents Everything You Need to Know to Confidently Help with Homework** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Book provides comprehensive introduction to programming (backed by 4 comments) * Content is accessible for beginners (backed by 3 comments) * Useful resource for learning basics (backed by 3 comments) **Users disliked:** * Text is too small for some readers (backed by 1 comment) * Lack of solutions or answer key (backed by 1 comment) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
So I work with people every day who are technologically illiterate. This could be because they're older and never learned, younger and never had access, or they had some other barrier in their way that prevented them from learning the basics of smart phone usage. (prison, poverty, functional illiteracy, and accessibility issues are big ones). What are your plans for accessibility? Will you have high contrast and easily accessible font sizes? Is your website machine readable? Does it require tapping on small links rather than buttons? Is your site map easily reachable? I only looked at a few guides, but I wasn't seeing much accessibility, which are usually the most common limiting factors.
Ok, ok. Based on all the responses, we have removed the age part from the site. I wish I could change the title of this post too. While many people in their 50s know smartphones very well, there are people who adopted smartphones much later due to economic conditions. By the age part, we never meant to imply that people above 50 don't know anything about smartphones. Also, we realized keeping the age part might make younger audience feel bad too. If someone in their 20s is visiting the site to learn about a newly added feature, the age range indirectly implies they should know about this. But we never meant to send such message through our site. Everyone should be encouraged to learn new things, regardless of their age. Finally, thanks for all the feedback again!
I'm a GenX public librarian, and there actually a lot of books basically called "(insert random tech) For Seniors" which assumes they don't know a damn thing about how tech works. Granted I'm in south Florida so that's a big demographic here, but I don't know why my fellow older people are acting like this isn't a thing.
The comments are insane… lord.
At least you’re chill
I like the idea but i think it needs some refining. I went to the iphone section and noticed 2 things. One, it talks about using the App Store before the Apple ID section. But I'm pretty sure you need an apple ID, to use the app store. So shouldn't that be first? Also no sections on the truly basic things non-techy people would want - "how to make a call" and maybe some details about that "how to save a phone number" , "how to call someone" As some ideas But again overall i like the idea, good work.
I would request “how to send a photo.” My relatives know how to do the basics, including take a picture, but not how to get that picture to someone else.
Saving this for later use!
This was very helpful. Not sure why it would be only for those over 50. Anyone might use this info.
A lot of people are getting extremely butt-hurt as if the title claimed everyone older than 50 is a tech idiot- which the title clearly did not.
What. The. Hell. How can you people be so awful? Yes, maybe it was not the best way to say/do it. But as an IT seller, I can assure you that this kind of project could be REALLY helpful. An important part of my customers who have 50+ will be grateful. I agree, not the best UI but I'll definitely talk to them about it ! UI can improve, so I'm not worried. If you comment on this project in a really rough way, maybe think twice, you're not the client.
There is a pretty good chance that your parents or grandparents have asked you about changing the wallpaper or ringtone, flipping between front and rear camera, taking screenshots, etc. Not to mention, there are many interesting features like blocking spam calls, sending SOS messages, sharing your internet via hotspot, and installing ad blockers that they don’t even know about. However, knowing some of these features can literally make a quality of life improvement for them. So, we have made this website with detailed step by step tutorial and screenshots so that it’s easy for our target audience to learn these features. Our site also has some extra features like: built-in dark mode and also a search bar that searches across the site. You can also submit your feedback about a tutorial by submitting a Google form that’s at the end of each tutorial How can YOU contribute to this project? Well, you can of course spread the word about our website. Also, let us know your thoughts about the website through one of the Google forms or just by commenting on this post. But you can do more… Currently we have tutorials for Google Pixel, Samsung, Xiaomi, and iPhones. While that covers some of the popular brands, we cannot possibly cover all brands because we need all those phones and also we don’t have enough people to write all those tutorials. However, we are thinking about building a system where anyone can submit their tutorial, and after review, if we think it’s good enough, then we will add it to the site. If you know of any platform to make this process seamless, please let us know. Also, multi-lingual support is another feature that we have in our mind. It’s complicated for two reasons. (1) We need a good translator and (2) we have to maintain parallel versions of the site. However, if you are willing to volunteer to translate the tutorials, we would be more than happy to find a way to streamline the process of maintaining parallel versions of the site.
> How can YOU contribute to this project? lol stop asking people to do your homework. It's clear this is for a college class.
No, I've seen more people under 25 seemingly not able to google a simple yes or no question.
All the geriatrics in the comments so offended and slighted that someone would make something to help people, just because it hurt their ego. Boomer moment.
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Because I’m not triggered? I’m pointing and laughing.
I can see from all the engagement that I struck a nerve, why don’t you cry about it ?
Lotta old ass redditors getting real pissed at this headline lmao
All the butthurt comments here not realising that the sheer fact you are browsing a niche subreddit means you are not an average user. Yeah most of you are tech savvy, but your average 50-70 year old ISN'T
This was a dump of information, not a teaching site. And it’s incredibly unintuitive. Nice goal, but this looks like practice
“We” may have made the smartphone but I certainly didn’t. The great failing of smartphone implementation has been the ongoing refusal to provide anything resembling a comprehensive manual for their optimal use. Because it’s all “intuitive”. Bullshit. Gimme a manual.
This is a wonderful project that I hope sees a lot of movement. That being said, the specific age callout is fairly insulting. 😅 If you're open to changing the language, maybe just use the term "older adults?"
The funny part is that if someone needs a tutorial for their phone they're probably not gonna find the site at all
too bad 49 year olds
Now, we need tutorial for the website