Ottawa seniors increasingly seek tech support amid a lack of face-to-face customer service

As technology continues to evolve and digital tools change seemingly every day, even those who are confident in their digital literacy can be left seeking support and opportunities to learn how to engage in this changing world. Ottawa is no exception.

The time of email, satellite television and desktop computers being the extent of technology in our homes seems long behind us, and as it continues to evolve, so do Ottawa’s community resources that seek to teach and inform on digital literacy.

But for seniors in the community, digital literacy and access can seem further and further out of reach, and individuals and companies alike are advocating not only for more resources, but for big change on a higher level within tech and service companies themselves.

For years, Frances Evans was comfortable with technology, starting with early computers in the 1970s when she worked in data processing at the Department of Agriculture.

“I had sort of been on the bleeding edge of technology all the way through, starting with mainframes, then going to laptops and PCs and you know mag cards and all that kind of stuff, all the way through…” Evans, 73, told the Ottawa Lookout. “So I've tried to keep on top of things.

“But how do other seniors manage?”

Even with her experience and willingness to “stay on top of” recent technology, Evans said many emerging tools still puzzle her. From multi-factor authentication to artificial intelligence and online scams, she said it changes so quickly that she struggles to keep up.