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Consider people like my aunt, who through decades of pre-2000 household conditioning, immediately stop whatever they are doing and rush to answer a ringing phon

Consider people like my aunt, who through decades of pre-2000 household conditioning, immediately stop whatever they are doing and rush to answer a ringing phone even though 98% of the calls are junk and the volume of incoming calls is 5-10x what they were in the 80s or 90s. No matter how many times I suggest not bothering to even look at the phone, she cannot resist. Further, this cohort is largely unable to use the tools we take for granted. Many seniors don't know how to block or screen calls, let along apply the phone's do not disturb features. She has been phished multiple times via email, and every time I check her Mac I have to uninstall scammy browser bars and search redirects. It's not just the spammers who are the problem. Technology platforms, telcos, and policy makers have failed people like her. Hardware and software designers are part of the problem, too. It seems like every device and app is made for techie/hipster types, not the rest of the population who have no clue what a "hamburger menu" does or where the downloads end up on their computer. I'm assuming many people on HN are their extended family's de facto IT support team. It's exhausting.

jrootabega 5y ago
I have an elderly family member with dementia who is jolted awake several times a day by spam calls and left disoriented or even at risk of a fall as a result. Telling them they don't need to answer is met with anger and annoyance (and it's not their fault). Most of the discussion here centers on seeing who's calling and making decisions based on that. There's a large group of victims that never understood those concepts, or are no longer capable of processing them functionally. The lack of tools to help us help them is very frustrating, and this is with a clamshell dumb phone, which these days is probably close to 100% elderly users with special needs.
- aviditas 5y ago
  I had my parents stay on a landline until very recently because services like nomorobo are free and trivial for me to set up and manage remotely as well as those landline phones have built-in block lists in a way that they already know how to use. Thankfully my mother has become tech savvy & is naturally suspicious and my dad doesn't answer any calls if there's not a contact for them as has been drilled into him. I wish that Voip service for the elderly and disabled was free (there are some limited discount programs but it is not the same) and would be set up with nomorobo or a similar free for landline product. ISPs have erroded the home phone line to a sad shadow of what it was. e911 service is a critical thing to have for people who are older and/or have medical problems. Cell phone 911 service is not the same quality and will not have the same response times for most in the US especially in rural areas.

jrootabega 5y ago

I have an elderly family member with dementia who is jolted awake several times a day by spam calls and left disoriented or even at risk of a fall as a result. Telling them they don't need to answer is met with anger and annoyance (and it's not their fault). Most of the discussion here centers on seeing who's calling and making decisions based on that. There's a large group of victims that never understood those concepts, or are no longer capable of processing them functionally. The lack of tools to help us help them is very frustrating, and this is with a clamshell dumb phone, which these days is probably close to 100% elderly users with special needs.

aviditas 5y ago
I had my parents stay on a landline until very recently because services like nomorobo are free and trivial for me to set up and manage remotely as well as those landline phones have built-in block lists in a way that they already know how to use. Thankfully my mother has become tech savvy & is naturally suspicious and my dad doesn't answer any calls if there's not a contact for them as has been drilled into him. I wish that Voip service for the elderly and disabled was free (there are some limited discount programs but it is not the same) and would be set up with nomorobo or a similar free for landline product. ISPs have erroded the home phone line to a sad shadow of what it was. e911 service is a critical thing to have for people who are older and/or have medical problems. Cell phone 911 service is not the same quality and will not have the same response times for most in the US especially in rural areas.