Image: Seniors at Coonabarabran Library.
In 2018, Telstra teamed up with the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Public Libraries Victoria, and the University of the Third Age (U3A) to expand existing efforts to help over-60s build their online capabilities and confidence. The program, known as Social Seniors, aimed to assist older Victorians in becoming more comfortable using their phones and social media, while encouraging them to create short films to share with their friends and peers online.
Like many older people, for 89-year-old Mary Boscarini the COVID lockdowns brought about feelings of loneliness and anxiety. For the first time in her life, she was not permitted to visit her husband Leo at the nursing home where he lives in Sunbury.
“Thankfully I discovered the Social Seniors course through our community newsletter, and I learned how to make Zoom video calls on my iPad,” says Mary. “That meant that while we were in lockdown, I was able to speak to my husband in the nursing home, which helped him and me to speak face to face online."
“These days, I have an Apple iPad, a Samsung phone and a Kindle, and I intend to keep going to more courses to learn more about my computer and my iPad.”
Social Seniors included three workshops: mobile features, online security, and social media, along with editing and sharing short films using the FilmoraGo app. The program was rolled out through nearly 100 workshops at 57 library branches across Victoria, both before and after the COVID lockdowns.
During the pandemic, Social Seniors collaborated with U3A’s seniors communities to transition courses online, with 33 groups around Victoria training ‘digital skills mentors’ to deliver the courses to small groups via Zoom. These courses reached an additional 360 seniors when local libraries were closed – and the need for online connections was greater than ever.
While the current phase of Social Seniors will wrap up in 2023, the program’s vital lessons will continue through two new initiatives: Public Libraries Victoria, which is developing its own program to support digital navigation for seniors, and U3A’s More Than a Phone program, which is already being delivered by 45 U3A groups in Victoria.
Since the end of the pandemic, U3A’s newly empowered seniors have been using FilmoraGo and Facebook to make and share videos on everything from gardening, painting and pottery, to walks among local historical sites.
“These days, we’re much more aware of the importance of social connections to people’s wellbeing, particularly among older citizens,” says Glen Wall, U3A Victoria’s digital partnerships coordinator. “Older people may have difficulty learning new apps – but if you can present them in a simple way, with time to experiment and ask questions, it’s relatively easy to have a huge impact on people’s health and happiness.”
For Dr Angela Savage, CEO of Public Libraries Victoria, the Social Seniors program and growing awareness of the positive impacts of online connections, have combined to produce something very important.
“Social Seniors helped to draw attention to the significant work of our libraries in building digital literacy among older Victorians, and led to a $2 million allocation in the 2022-23 state budget for our libraries to support digital navigation for seniors,” says Angela. “This is incredibly important work, which we intend to keep supporting.”
To find out more visit the Public Library of Victoria or check out the University of the Third Age.
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