It's another hot summer day, and I am at my grandma's house with my parents. We go every weekend so we can spend more time with her, and so we don’t have to stay home the whole weekend. 

“Go help your grandma with her phone, she said nothing is loading on it,” my mom said as we were walking in. I went over and asked her for the phone to take a look. I opened her phone and started clicking around, only to realize that she had airplane mode turned on. Her phone is the same old one that my mom got her many years ago. We wanted to get a new one for her for a while, but she always says she’s good with this one. My grandma does not use her smartphone very often. She feels much more comfortable with her other phone, which can only be used to make calls. The only thing that she knows how to do on her new phone is to Facetime us and watch videos, occasionally sending hong bao during Chinese New Year and birthdays. 

As technology advances rapidly, phones have become a necessity in everyday life. We use them to pay for goods, call our friends, text family members, and play games. They bring convenience to our lives, allowing us to do anything we want easily. But what about the older generations? We might not realize it but the simple clicks and swipes that we are doing might take the elderly many trials and practices to learn. For my grandma, we have to write the procedures down for her so she can reference it when she needs it. With technology advancing so quickly around us, I think it is important for us to pay attention to the people around us. In a survey conducted in 2021 by Pew Research Center, “96% of those ages 18 to 29 own a smartphone compared with 61% of those 65 and older”. While many elders claim they own a smartphone, it does not mean they can use it confidently. According to California Mobility, “73% of the seniors ages 65 and older say they need help using new devices”, which is a significantly large number when compared to teenagers. 

One way to improve this issue is by improving the accessibility features. Just like how we are using AI for many apps and websites, we can also include this to help people navigate their phones. For example, we can have AI tell you what to do to open the app or call someone that you want. Currently, some AI tools like Siri, Alexa, and Gemini, are sufficient to do some of that. But I think it’s critical for it to aim specifically at helping elders. We can expand existing AI features with some of the AI instead of creating an entirely new system. I believe these features are not only important to the elders but can also bring benefits to other people that are blind or have hearing issues affecting their ability to use all the functions. As technology continues to advance, it is essential that we make sure everyone is able to enjoy the benefits it brings.