Everything online

I had a job working nights so using online rather than the phone is much more convenient for me.

The apps on your previous phone /tablet should automatically sync as long as you backed everything up to the cloud.

It is frustrating setting things up the first time though.

I’m in my 60s. My generation invented the worldwide web. I’ve been using computers all my working life. Another ten years and pretty much no one will be able to claim not to do computers.

I tried to register a new address with Hmrt by phone. It seems literally impossible.

That's the thing, people prefer to do things online because it takes away the need for human contact. It's the same reason I prefer to use a self-service checkout at the supermarket, even if the queue is longer - I don't have to deal with a human being except when they authorise the alcohol.

I get that for older people in particular change can be hard (not always). But technology moves on, it always has, and people have always faced a choice of adapting to new technology or suffering the consequences. People didn't like it when they had to get a new TV when ITV came out, people didn't like it when they had to start phoning banks up rather than going into branches, people didn't like trains initially because going over 30mph might kill you.

Humans have evolved because of our ability to adapt. As with an evolutionary change, those that can't adapt get left behind. Survival of the fittest, in the sense of survival of those who fit best.

Was just going to say everything is backed up in the cloud
I've just done this with my new phone( very pleased with my iPhone 16e)

You need a cloud backup from your phone. That way everything can be restored in an instant.

Having previously worked with older people, I was surprised to learn that despite fears expressed around this, you can actually still do more or less anything an elderly technophobe would want to do in person or via mail or on the phone. It takes much longer, of course, and can be very bureaucratic, but if you’ve never tried to do it differently then you simply don’t know that the way you’re doing things is inconvenient - or consider it inconvenient. Plenty of our elderly residents would spend entire days travelling on the bus visiting the council offices, going to the bank, phoning utility companies, coming to us to pay their rent in cash in person, going out to shop in person - but they were used to it as it’s what they’d always done. And the things they couldn’t do this way? Well, they didn’t know they existed, so didn’t miss them, either.

Long term, I think people who consider themselves technophobes need to make an active effort to hone and keep their tech skills up to date, because ultimately, shying away and not keeping in the loop is what leads to digital exclusion. You don’t want to end up at 80 wishing you’d kept more abreast of everything at 40 and made it your norm.

I would much rather deal with things online than by telephone.

Technology is part of life now, surely we haven't got many years left of saying elderly people can't use technology when the smartphone has been out for nearly 20 years and computers for God knows how long.