Written by Institute for GOD Student, Amelia Harrison
As a college student at the Institute for G.O.D. International, I've spent dedicated time over the past five years serving the elderly community in various capacities through our weekly service projects. Recently, my service projects time led me to a wonderful organization called Fifty Forward, where I've been providing technical assistance to those in need. Witnessing the impact firsthand, week after week, has been profoundly rewarding.
Fifty Forward is a recreational center for people aged 50+. FiftyForward provides a variety of services and social gatherings for seniors, one of which is technology assistance. This is where we have come in. Every Wednesday, myself and a couple other Institute for G.O.D. Int’l students will go to the center and help people with a wide range of needs: from getting into their email and organizing computer files to getting printers hooked up and working. It’s been a joy the past few months meeting and developing relationships with those who attend regularly.
Outside of the relational development, I’m also thankful we get to be there to help for the sake of their safety. The sobering reality is that the elderly are very vulnerable to online scams. They are the most targeted demographic on digital platforms because they are unfamiliar with the technology and what to look out for in a scam. The elderly should be treated with respect and value, but in the digital world they’re only seen as easy targets.
Many of the people we work with find technology to be very daunting and something they’ve resigned to never understanding. This mindset seems to characterize the majority of elderly people and can often put them in more danger of being taken advantage of. Thankfully, in the time I have served at Fifty Forward, I have witnessed senior students’ confidence grow immensely as they become familiar with how to use computers, phones, and navigate the online world. This familiarity has led to a greater determination to continue learning. We even have had some people come to the session just to show us what they’ve practiced and learned on their own!
Ultimately, as someone who has grown up as a digital native, I feel a responsibility to educate those who did not. It really is like learning a new language, but when the elderly are empowered with that language, they will be able to navigate this ever-growing technological landscape in a much safer way. I’m happy to share the knowledge I have and feel grateful to serve and honor the elderly in this way.