Technology has become such a big part of daily life, it’s easy to forget that using it doesn’t come easily to everyone, especially senior citizens. While there are certainly elderly people who have no problem picking up on how new technology works, that isn’t always the norm. It seems every person under 50 has received a phone call from an elderly loved one asking them to show them how to use a computer or their new cell phone.
But not everyone has a younger person to call, so when a group of teenage boys showed up at an assisted living facility, the residents were excited to get help. The teens are from Canterbury School in Fort Meyers, Florida, and belong to a program called CLEO, which stands for Computer Literacy Education Outreach, one of the teens explained to CBS News.
The idea came after the kids were all joking about how their grandparents always call to ask them for help with their technology. This sparked a conversation on how to make helping elderly people beyond their own grandparents a reality.
The three boys attempted to partner with the facility next door to their school, but they seemed to be having some…technology problems.
“Initially we tried emailing but I think maybe we got put in spam,” one teen told CBS. “I mean it’s right next door…it was before we could drive, so we just walked over after school.”
From teaching the residents how to text pictures to helping them set up their email, the teens have proven to be quite patient and helpful. One elderly woman had over 122,000 emails that she needed help clearing, which she was thankful to learn could be done with a quick click of a couple of buttons.
Watch the residents beam while talking about the teens’ weekly visits:
