How to Make Internet Searches Easier for Seniors
Setting up a computer for your grandparents or parents can be frustrating, especially if you’re trying to do it over the phone with them. However, if you can actually get your hands on a computer, you will have the opportunity to make their online experience better.
Redditor u / TyrKiyote shared on r / LifeProTips that they prepared their 80-year-old grandfather’s computer for him by manipulating an algorithm on YouTube:
When setting up a computer for an older family member, download their search history.
I have installed a Chromebook for my grandparents. I had a thing for several days, I put a label on it and tried to make it simple and beautiful. I think the biggest difference was finding things on YouTube that I knew they liked.
Now that Grandpa guesses that he wants to see what this computer nonsense is, he sees the recommended videos about Glen Campbell and the farm, not what YouTube broadcasts by default. This already made a huge difference – instead of feeling lost, he would see something and click on it, and it turned into him looking at what he wants by searching, not what he is being fed. TV (at least sometimes).
This can be applied to a number of popular sites that a less experienced computer user might view, starting with Google. Not only are you helping them see what they are interested in, but you are redirecting them away from the messy material that tends to climb to the top of the search feed with no direction; In fact, u / WayneFire commented that they had exactly this kind of problem with their grandpa:
Fantastic idea. I wish I did this when I was setting up things for my grandfather. Didn’t expect him to watch so much YouTube. Now he was watching a bunch of conspiracy theories with this “strange green frog.” He’s a wonderful person … but I think he deserves better entertainment.
If you’re not sure what someone might be interested in, you can check their bookshelves, search for films and music videos from their early days, or simply ask them directly what they want to use the Internet for (other than porn). There is great power in small searches – as u / mr_li_jr replied, “Use the power of big data for good, not evil.”