When a relative struggles with a phone, identify the specific barrier: small text, unclear audio, forgotten steps, or uncertainty about which button is safe. Teach one everyday task at a time, letting the person operate while the helper explains and checks. Leave simple instructions after the first successful attempt. The aim is repeatable use and informed control, not merely getting through today's screens as quickly as possible.
What to have ready
Before you start
DPO's Smart Silver and digital-inclusion information links community support, training, and online learning, with individual locations and participation arrangements to check. Family assistance does not authorize representation for every service. Identity verification, signatures, and consent must follow the service's formal process. Choose support that increases the person's ability to understand the task, and ask about an alternative channel when the online route remains unsuitable.
What to do, step by step
- Ask the person to show the difficult screen, adjust display settings appropriately, and ask what help they prefer. Avoid assuming the barrier or moving ahead without explanation.
- Practise with a demonstration that has no payment or sensitive information, explaining the next control and its consequence before the person selects it.
- Let the person handle authentication and submission under the applicable process, without the helper retaining passwords. Check formal authorisation if representative action is actually needed.
- Write three to five steps on paper or the person's own phone and ask them to repeat the task. Use official digital support if the obstacle remains.
Costs, timing, and things to check
Check support location, hours, reservations, and teaching scope; not every support service submits applications on the user's behalf.
Shared calendars and enquiry lists can help, while private messages, banking, and identity accounts need clear boundaries. Pause a doubtful call and contact a trusted person through a known route.
A practical example
For an older relative checking library hours, bookmark the official directory, show how to select the library and read special notices, then repeat the process together. Move to reservations or login after this small task works. Teaching ten apps in one session can blend their steps and warnings; a successful repeatable routine provides a clearer foundation for the next service.
Teach one task in a repeatable routine, keep the person's control, and use official support for unresolved barriers.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.