Social Distancing For Your Loved One: Teaching Your Loved One to Use Skype

The coronavirus has proved its determined to stick around for a while, and so we’ve been changing the way we communicate with our family, friends, and co-workers. There has been a drastic increase in the world’s reliance on texts, phone calls, and video chats to keep in touch with loved ones.
Our senior citizens, who are most at-risk of catching the virus, are certainly no exception. You may want to consider teaching your own senior loved one how to use a video chat platform, like Skype, to stay in touch. You can make learning Skype simple for your senior by following our tips below.
Make it Simple
To make this video chatting process as easy as possible for your senior, avoid overcomplicating the steps and use easy-to-understand language. You want to ensure your senior knows the basics, steer away from any unnecessary advanced settings. Show them how to locate the Skype icon on a phone or computer, how to find the person they want to call, and how to finish the process of making the call.
Write it Down
Your next step after outlining the basics of the Skype video call process is to write these exact steps down for your senior. While it’s ideal they memorize how to do this, it’s a good idea to leave them a list to refer to should they occasionally forget a step.
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Next up, have your senior physically repeat the steps on their own after you have run through it with them a few times. This will help them become more familiar with doing it by themselves and make the process feel more like second nature.
Extra Advice
Try making easy comparisons for your senior while you’re explaining the video call process. An easy example is to relate finding a person to call on Skype to looking up a friend from their address book. At any time if your senior becomes frustrated or tired, it’s best to slow down or take a break. It is also helpful if your senior knows how to use their volume buttons and how to end a video call when they’re ready to finish up a call.
Would you like further advice for teaching your senior loved one how to video chat during these historic times? Feel free to reach out and call to chat with our experts at Home Care Assistance!