Introduction: I have been delaying writing this article for more than half a year. I originally wanted to finish it before returning home for the long vacation. But due to various reasons, it has only been written now. Then I suddenly felt that it would be better to do it instead of waiting, so I pushed it out. I hope that while you are busy, you can also pay more attention to your parents.
The idea of this article originated from an incident of my father-in-law: because his granddaughter randomly pressed the phone, she deleted a weather desktop widget that he liked very much. In the village, he asked the courier boy; he also asked an acquaintance in the mobile phone store in town, but there was no solution. It was not until I went back during the National Day holiday that I helped him add it back.
Since then, I have started to pay attention to some problems my parents have in using mobile phones, so I wrote this article. My parents-in-law live in the countryside, and my parents raise their children in another place. The four elders are representative, but they definitely have more limitations. I hope that digitalization will bring convenience, rather than islands and gaps.
1. Save some trouble: How to choose a mobile phone model
When I was strolling around the shopping mall on the weekend, I found a very interesting phenomenon: in many mobile phone brand stores, in addition to the crowds of young people, I often saw people of my parents' age asking about the settings of their mobile phones. At that time, the Redmi Turbo 4 pro was on sale, and I happened to be thinking about this topic, thinking: will the big screen and big battery be suitable for the elderly? So I went into the store to take a look.
After a quick hands-on and confirmation with the store clerk, I discovered that this phone does not have an "elderly/senior mode". Although the font size can be adjusted, even at the maximum, it doesn't change much, which is very frustrating. Although this phone is not aimed at this age group, the "origin of all things MiUI" seems to be overrated. Okay, forgive me for never using a Xiaomi phone, I can only say that I am a little disappointed.
So, this brings us to a very important feature when choosing a mobile phone: the ability to increase the font size.
1.1 Large font size
Many mobile phones can adjust the font size, but it is also important whether the overall UI can match after the font size is increased.
The font size is too large, but the icon or UI remains unchanged, or the words are overlapped or eaten up; or some parts become larger, while others remain the same... It would be outrageous if the mobile page looks even more difficult than the poster of the Coconut Tree Group.
1.2 The external speaker is very loud
Have you noticed that many elders like to use the speakerphone to talk on their phones? I also like this more and more in non-public places, maybe it’s because I’m getting older…
Physiologically, hearing will decline with age, which is inevitable. But the volume of many mobile phones is really hard to describe. I haven't used many mobile phones, and the one that can surprise me is the recent Pixel 9. When placed on the kitchen windowsill, the double noise of the range hood and cooking can't cover it. For me, it is second only to the iPad pro.
1.3 Long battery life
How long is considered long battery life is a matter of opinion. If the elderly do not like to look at their phones, low standby power consumption is far more important than long battery life. In this regard, the iPhone should be undisputed. However, after using PIxel, my impression of this aspect has changed a little, but not much.
1.4 NFC access control and public transportation
If your community has access control, it is recommended to consider the NFC function of your phone. Otherwise, it will be more troublesome to unlock it.
As for whether it supports buses and subways, it is not really important. It is more convenient to recharge with a physical card or a senior citizen card.
1.5 Carefully choose “niche” brands
If you are not with your elders for a long time, when choosing a mobile phone brand, it is best to observe the usage of people around them on the basis of respecting their parents' preferences. In this way, even if there is a problem with the phone settings, it is easy to find someone who understands.
As for what mobile phone to buy, it is actually a very subjective matter. Learn more about your parents' needs before making a choice.
For example: parents are taking care of their children in different places and they like taking photos. Then it is best to have a mobile phone with large storage and good photos, so that both the parents' memories and the children's growth can be recorded. As for the specific brand and model, it is better to touch it in the store.
2. Save some money: How to buy a mobile phone package
My parents-in-law only use their phones to make calls and receive text messages, so they don’t have data plans.
Then... my little niece turned on the data usage and watched some Douyin, so she had to pay an extra 90 yuan for data usage that month...
Therefore, regardless of whether your parents need data or not, I suggest that you buy them a secondary card if possible, which will solve the problem of calls and data usage.
Of course, you can get your money back if you encounter the above situation. Just call the manual customer service and explain the situation. It shouldn't be a problem to get 70% or 80% back, not 100%.
I have helped my wife with a similar situation and shared it on the official account, so this conclusion is based on facts.
3. Save some trouble: How to set up the functions of your mobile phone
When you live apart from your parents for a long time, do you often encounter this situation: every time you go home for a long vacation, your parents will pull you aside and ask you to solve all kinds of strange problems. Or, although you encounter a problem, you are too embarrassed to ask until you take the initiative to check it out... and so on.
I have compiled some of the situations I have encountered, and I will use them as a reminder for you to set up. I hope that every time you go home, you can help your parents to review them briefly. Especially for parents who take care of children, the mobile phone will often be messed up by the children.
3.1 Font size, volume, vibration
This is a three-piece set of regular settings, so I won’t go into details.
3.2 Flow start and stop
If parents do not use the Internet or have two mobile phone cards, they must set the data traffic on and off.
(1) Turn off the traffic setting: This is usually set through the drop-down menu on the screen. It is recommended to teach parents to understand the functions of common icons; this is used to troubleshoot problems with mobile phone use.
(2) Two cards, one of which is a data card: turn off the automatic data switching setting. If your mobile data package is not large, also turn off the setting for using mobile data acceleration under Wi-Fi.
3.3 Pin desktop components
Not many people around me use the desktop widget feature, but I personally think it is a "killer" for elders to use. Because it has three irresistible functions:
(1) The function area can be large or small: it is convenient for elders with poor eyesight to view information;
(2) Simple and intuitive operation: convenient for elders to operate
(3) Can be pinned to the top of the desktop: easy for elders to find
My father-in-law likes this feature very much. When setting up his phone, he asked for it to be able to make calls, read text messages, and check the weather. Other apps should not be placed on the desktop to save the trouble of finding them. So there are only four apps on his mobile phone desktop: phone, text messages, address book, and a large weather component.
At the beginning, he said that he had searched for a function that no one else had found, which was the weather component that could be placed on the desktop.
Often, the elders cannot clearly explain the names of the functions, so it is best to guide the parents to describe the appearance and functions of the app, such as what it looks like, what it is used for, where it was last seen, etc. This way, the elders' favorite settings can be restored smoothly.
In addition, I sincerely suggest: it’s not about what you think is good, but what your elders think is good.
Just like input method, those born in the 80s who used feature phones like the 9-grid method, but the next generation born in the 10s can use two fingers to scroll on the full keyboard. It's up to each person to decide.
3.4 Input method switching settings
It is still very important to teach parents how to use input methods, especially the input method switching function. As for whether to use pinyin, handwriting, or voice, parents should use whichever they are used to. The important thing is to teach parents how to switch input methods and delete unnecessary input methods.
For example, my mother likes to use handwriting input, and she often switched to full keyboard input by mistake for a while. So, I disabled full keyboard input and left a 9-square grid for my convenience.
3.5 Desktop Icon Lock Settings
If there are children at home, or the parents are not familiar with mobile phone operations, it is strongly recommended to turn on the mobile phone desktop lock setting to prevent accidental operation or deletion.
Otherwise you will encounter:
The XXX app is gone again...it turned out to be deleted...
I can’t find the app again… It turns out that it merged a folder with another app…
3.6 Related top and favorite settings
Mainly includes: WeChat, WeChat groups, mini programs and H5 pages
As information is overwhelming nowadays, it is recommended to help parents plan relevant content regularly.
(1) Pinning WeChat: Important personal WeChat and WeChat groups can be pinned to the top, such as family WeChat, teacher WeChat, class group, tutoring class group, etc., so that elders can check the messages in time to avoid missing important messages.
(2) Mini Program Desktop Settings: Whether it is Android or iOS, WeChat Mini Programs can be placed on the desktop. Therefore, mini programs such as learning, government affairs, and hospital registration can be placed on the mobile phone desktop for parents to find easily. Especially in the case of elders taking their children to school in a different place, on the one hand, you need to help parents set up various apps for their children's study, and on the other hand, don't forget to set up settings such as social security certification, hospital registration, and public transportation.
Many businesses now provide services through WeChat or Alipay mini-programs, but if such services are not saved, it is troublesome to find the path again. You can teach parents how to search and save.
For example, search: Pull down in WeChat and you can see the mini-programs you have recently used and collected.
(3) H5 page: Same as the mini program, can be placed on the desktop as a bookmark icon.
3.7 Downloads and Restrictions from App Stores
Regarding how to download apps, parents should be reminded that they must download from the official app store. Huawei phones use the Huawei app store, Xiaomi's is in Xiaomi's, and the same is true for other brands. If the brand does not have an app, use Huawei's...
It is best to set up a pure mode similar to Huawei App Security to prevent parents from accidentally downloading shopping, game, phone cleaning and other apps from unknown sources.
3.8 Cleaning and restarting the phone
Mobile phone cleaning, especially WeChat cleaning, is the hardest hit area for rogue fraud apps. It is strongly recommended to remind parents not to clean their phones whenever they see various warnings. If you think your phone is stuck, just restart it directly, it is simple and convenient.
At the same time, be sure to tell your parents how to force restart the phone, including but not limited to: long press the power button, long press the power and volume up buttons at the same time, etc. (Power + volume down button, usually screenshot)
One time, the phone crashed and my father-in-law waited until the battery died before charging it and restarting it automatically.
Nowadays, the restart methods of mobile phones of various brands are becoming more and more hidden, and the product managers of each brand are really confident in their own products.
3.9 WeChat and app capacity cleanup
This is a common topic. In addition to WeChat, other apps like Alipay, Pinduoduo, JD.com and many apps that can cache videos have similar problems.
There is no good solution for this. Either buy a mobile phone with a large capacity, or check it for your parents regularly. In any case, you should repeatedly remind your elders not to download cleaning apps easily, and don’t believe in various security risks and full capacity prompts that pop up from nowhere. They are all advertisements and are deceiving people.
3.10 There is no need to delete text messages
One of the habits that our parents brought back from the era of feature phones is to delete text messages when they feel that their phone capacity is almost full...
In fact, it is not necessary.
A text message takes up very little space, but an incoming text message also contains a lot of key information that can be used for query.
It is recommended that the elders stay if they can.
3.11 Call Blocking
It is difficult to find effective measures to deal with the persistent problem of harassing phone calls.
Ever since my mother fell in love with online shopping, her 0-social mobile phone card in a foreign country has received more than a dozen harassing calls every day. In anger, the old lady asked me to set up "answering calls in the address book", and since then, there has been a lot of peace.
Therefore, you can adjust the strictness setting according to the severity of the nuisance calls.
3.12 View bill
Mainly includes three bills: mobile phone bill, WeChat bill and Alipay bill
(1) Mobile phone bill: mainly check the composition of the mobile phone package to confirm whether there are any services that have been secretly subscribed, resulting in extra charges; if so, call 10086/10010/10000 to cancel it in time. You can explain the situation and try to get back the loss. Generally speaking, as long as you say that it is an elderly person's mobile phone and it was subscribed without your knowledge, the extra charges can be recovered.
(2) Teach your parents to read their WeChat and Alipay bills so that they know how much they spend each month. Parents who love online shopping are really worrying.
3.13 Scheduled Deductions
You can check “scheduled deductions” on both WeChat and Alipay. If you cannot teach your parents, you have to check it regularly yourself.
There is a high probability that a pension thief is hiding here.
3.14 Social Security Certification
If you have parents who have reached retirement age, please take note: In the province where my parents live, they have to authenticate their identity in the provincial/municipal human resources and social security system every year, and only after the authentication is passed can they receive their pension normally. Especially for friends who live in other places, remember to help your parents set up the mini-programs/apps.
3.15 Mobile phone permission settings
Common permission settings include photo albums, location, recording, storage, etc.
If you make a mistake when the permission request pops up after the first use or update of the app, the app will not work properly. You will need to reset it in the permission settings.
This is a common solution when the app cannot be opened.
3.16 Export/sync data regularly
For friends who only see their parents during long holidays every year, remember to help their parents export photos and videos from their phones regularly.
3.17 Live e-commerce is a scam
"E-commerce/social platform + live e-commerce + password-free payment" is, in my opinion, a money-scamming industry chain targeting the elderly. For a while, I could see all kinds of weird things at my parents' houses almost every weekend. The unit price was not high, but there were many categories.
During that time, the thing my mother asked me to do most often was that if I wanted to return a product but couldn't find the platform or order, I would look for it on various platforms such as JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Video Account.
Talk more to your parents. Instead of betting on the anchor’s conscience, it’s better to buy something better at an offline supermarket.
3.18 Keep your payment password confidential
If you have children at home, you must keep your mobile payment password confidential and remind their parents.
I have experienced minors giving gifts to anchors and recharging money in games online.
Children need education and guidance, and adults should also strengthen prevention.
3.19 Wireless Charger
If conditions are right, you can consider buying a wireless charger with a fan for your parents.
(1) Many elderly people have a habit of waiting until their mobile phones are almost out of power before charging them. This will shorten the life of the lithium battery. You should tell your parents not to wait until the battery is below 20% before charging.
(2) With a wireless charger, you can not only charge your phone whenever you need it, but it also provides a fixed place to put your phone, making it easy to find your phone.
(3) Don’t buy cheap products. Poor heat dissipation will also shorten the battery life. Instead, it is better to use wired charging.
Well, these are some of the random thoughts I recorded.
I originally had some content about brand stores and community volunteer services, but I felt that I had become obsessed with event planning, so I stopped writing.
As for the title "Three reflections are not as good as one heart", "one heart" naturally refers to the filial piety throughout the article.
No matter how much you think about it, it’s better to just do it. That’s it.
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