david hernando
Logroño, (EFE).- The generation that grew up with pens and typewriters does not want to be left behind and, to the extent possible, strives to acquire a series of basic knowledge with which to navigate the Internet and basic questions, such as requesting a medical appointment or doing a bank transaction, among others, through your computer or smartphone.
This was explained to EFE by Luis Triana, retired for ten years due to a work accident and student of the courses offered by the Association of Spanish Seniors for the Technical Cooperation of La Rioja (SECOT).
“I am 65 years old and I see myself behind in technology because my generation was caught with a pen and typewriter, so I am interested in knowing how to do banking and other types of procedures with a computer and telephone,” he explained.
He has valued the action of SECOT to break the digital gap that exists in the elderly and that they can handle such elementary issues as the use of a smartphone.
Triana has participated in a SECOT course that, in two days, has allowed her to learn how to make bank transfers “safely”, use the bizum application (to transfer money online from the bank account), manage the street map of the cities with the mobile phone, send messages by Whatsapp and enter the computer service of the Social Security to request appointments or see their history, among other aspects.
The next step for him is to continue practicing the use of new technologies, and he has appreciated that he has been able to request a nursing consultation at his medical center.
For his part, the person in charge of internal and external training at SECOT, Ricardo Rodríguez, explained to EFE that this association is made up of professionals, managers and retired people who have dedicated themselves to the business world.
His objective, he has indicated, is to teach the basic concepts, from turning on the mobile to managing WhatsApp, activating Wi-Fi and learning about how to use banking and make electronic purchases because “direct banking is increasingly disappearing.”
Electronic banking causes fear among the elderly, due to scams, but “this issue is easy to handle with certain assurances,” he stated.
One of the advantages that these courses provide to the elderly is that they do not remain isolated and can contact their grandchildren and children by engaging in a conversation via videoconference, for example.
“Every day there are people who isolate themselves, especially in smaller cities, where direct banking is disappearing,” he lamented.
For all this, he has highlighted the importance of promoting these courses throughout the autonomous community, since “it is important that older people have access to the necessary means to live today, such as computers, mobile phones or Wi-Fi”.
SECOT has given these courses in Logroño, Santo Domingo, Nájera and Rincón de Soto, and will later visit Haro, Alfaro, Calahorra, Arnedo and return to the capital of La Rioja.
This non-profit association has reached an agreement with the Ministry of Social Welfare with which they are allowed to teach these courses in all homes for the elderly in La Rioja, since “the regional government has seen that getting the older people to break that digital divide is a fundamental need”, he indicated. EFE