Any ‘easy’ technology for isolated non-tech-literate elderly to keep in touch with loved ones?

[MGMidget]

As many of us may have elderly relatives who are now being told to isolate and we need to keep our possibly-infectious kids out of their way, I thought it might be useful to start a thread to provide some sensible suggestions on how to set up some easy technology for any non-tech-literate elderly to stay in touch more easily. I have an elderly house-bound DF who suffers from mild dementia, hearing-aid interference with phone calls, and can barely manage the TV remote control these days. I don’t know where to begin to set him up with video conferencing if it is at all possible!

I am looking into Alexa but we don’t have this ourselves so I am not sure if it would work for him and what technology he would need with it! In an ideal world I would like him to be able to give a voice command to call xx and then have them appear on his TV screen in a video call, but that is probably in the realm if science fiction at the moment, or is it?

Has anyone had some success in getting elderly relatives set up with easy-to-use video calling technology or even just easy audio calls?

And can Alexa be connected to the TV so that my DF can just command the TV to switch on or off or change channels?

Any other suggestions for making it easy for the isolated elderly to use simple technology to stay in touch or relieve boredom?

I appreciate there will be some highly tech-literate elderly who don’t need to be helped with ‘easy’ technology and I am not intending to stereotype the elderly. This thread is intended to help those of us who are trying to keep in touch with less tech-literate elderly relatives or friends.

It would be great to get suggestions. Thanks!

Probably just old fashioned phone and letters... hang on - post and germs

Fo they have wifi? My parents are in their mid 70's they both have a decent grip of WhatsApp including the video call function.

I have been busy setting mine up with Skype on an old tablet of ours. I've also got them a Netflix account

But if you're going to buy something new how about an amazon fire tablet with Alexa built in?

iPad with Siri can voice activate FaceTime, would that help?

Alexa
Would work. You can set up calls and just say ‘call MG Midget and it will call your Alexa

My granny is quite deaf but she can use Facebook, messenger and email.
She's 89 so that's pretty handy

In an ideal world I would like him to be able to give a voice command to call xx and then have them appear on his TV screen in a video call, but that is probably in the realm if science fiction at the moment, or is it?

You can buy an Alexa with a video screen. It will do calls like this but only if the other party also has an Alexa with a video screen. However, ordinary Alexas will connect for phone calls with other ordinary Alexas.

An Alexa will also set an alarm, play the radio, play music, give you the weather forecast, answer a question (a kind of voice-operated Google), read audio books, tell jokes and limericks, set reminders (such as "don't forget your doctor's appointment at 11am").

It will work with a Firestick to go to a TV programme on demand but at the moment, the choice is limited.

Sky IQ has a voice-activated remote control but you'd have to buy the whole package.

Interested to hear about the Kindle fire with Alexa. We just bought one for my DD and I disabled Alexa on it as we didnt have Alexa in the house. So maybe I dont need Alexa separately if its built into the tablet? That could work well if my DF can work the tablet OK. However, with his dementia it has to be really really easy!

What kit do you have available? I'd be looking at setting up Skype/What's App/Google Hangouts/Facetime if you have a spare device?

Skype is SO easy. Once it's installed you just click on the icon and the page opens with a list of names of skype friends. Click on one of them and it's already phoning them. If you arrange a time to call then within seconds you are face to face. Just familiarise them with the camera and audio icons in case it defaults to audio only or similar, so they know where to click to get the view too.
And it's free.

Yes Skype is easy.

Won't work for hard of hearing though

Thanks. The challenges are: my DF wont remember to charge up a device and I doubt his carers will do it as they dont seem to even turn the TV on for him and leave him with no hearing aid on some days as he forgets to put it in (they are supposed to get him up, washed and dressed in the first of their visits each day!). So hearing is a potential problem too. Then there is the inability to operate basic technology ( I don’t think he can work a basic phone any more, the carers answer it for him now and he can’t seem to hear the conversation on the phone so passes the phone back to the carer and I relay messages through them. Therefore, I am thinking that any device will need some involvement from someone else to make it workable. I might be able to convince the care agency to ask carer to plug in a device to charge it at night and arrange for them to help him make a call on a timed visit but I can foresee that they will become short-staffed with coronavirus and only offering a bare bones service so extra frills like plugging in a device or helping my Dad make a video call will soon disappear! I guess I can only try and hope!