Shownotes
Smartphones are a double-edged sword, aren’t they? We can video chat with family, listen to our favorite tunes, or even navigate our way to the nearest coffee shop—all with a few taps.
But let's keep it real: Tech can be daunting, especially for older folks who didn't grow up with it. But fear not! This episode is all about turning those tech frowns upside down.
Today, I’m chatting with Ann Goldberg, a tech-savvy superstar who helps seniors embrace their smartphones and stay safe online. With a mix of humor and practical advice, she talks about overcoming the fear associated with technology and offers simple tips for using smartphones effectively. Plus, she dives into the importance of staying safe online amidst all the scams out there.
Ann found her passion in teaching older adults how to use their devices with confidence. So, whether you’re a smartphone lover, a reluctant user, or just trying to figure out where all your apps disappeared after the last update, this episode is for you!
Takeaways:
- Navigating tech can be tricky, but with practice, we can all learn to love our devices.
- Creating a family password can help protect against scams and keep communication safe.
- Tech is like learning to walk; practice makes us better and more confident.
- Staying engaged with technology can help reduce the risk of cognitive decline as we age.
Links referenced in this episode:
- Subscribe to the Boomer Banter Newsletter, Thriving Through Time. Click on Age Well With Us.
- Check out Ann Goldberg's website, TakeThisPhoneandShoveIt.com
- Check out the Fading Memories podcast
- Learn more about Greenwood Capital
Boomer Banter is sponsored in part by Greenwood Capital Associates, LLC. Greenwood Capital Associates, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm with offices in Greenville and Greenwood, SC. As a fiduciary firm, Greenwood Capital is obligated to disclose any potential conflicts of interest with this arrangement. The host of “Boomer Banter”, Wendy Green, is a client of Greenwood Capital, and her show “Boomer Banter”
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Our smartphones are amazing.
With a few taps, we can check in with our grandkids, we could join a Zoom call, we could look up health information, listen to music, find directions, and even manage our finances. But let's be honest, these devices can also be frustrating, confusing, and even a little scary.
Especially as updates change things overnight, scams get sneakier, and as my mother will tell you, it feels like you need a PhD just to adjust your hearing aid app. So today's episode is about navigating all of that and something deeper.
My guest, Ann Goldberg found her purpose not in a career she trained for, but in one that found her.
After years of career reinvention and soul searching, a few unexpected phone calls from older adults needing tech help, Ann found the thing that changed her life and theirs.
She now teaches older adults how to use their smartphones, stay safe online, super important and stay connected to the people and information that matter most. Also super important. Ann is funny, real and passionate about helping people age with confidence in this digital age.
So whether you love your phone, hate your phone, or you're just trying to find where the icons move to after an upgrade, stick around. This episode is for you. Hi, I'm Wendy Greene, your host for Boomer Banter, where we have real talk about Aging well.
And my guest today, Ann Goldberg, is a 73 year old teacher of technology to seniors.
In another Life, Ann spent 23 years as an executive recruiter both in New York and Florida, followed by 10 years dedicated to raising her two beloved sons in a synchronous series of events, and was guided to help seniors learn to use technology. You're going to love this title. Take this phone and shove it.
The book that will be coming out in the next couple of months is a compilation of Ann's classes taught for more than 11 years. It's about how smartphones help seniors to live better, stay connected with friends and family, and improve cognitive skills.
And just a reminder that if you would like to stay connected with all of the wonderful guests that we have on Boomer Banter with the inspirational thoughts that I put into the newsletter every week, you can join our community and subscribe to the newsletter by going to HeyBoomer Biz and click on Age well with us, I would love to have you as part of our community. And as you know, at Boomer Banter, we believe that aging well means living with purpose and that includes how we manage our money.
That's why I trust Greenwood Capital to manage my money. My advisor isn't just someone I hear from once A year.
She truly understands my goals and is always available to answer my questions and keep me calm when the market gets bumpy. Purposeful planning is part of how I protect my future and avoid becoming a burden to those I love. Greenwood Capital helps me to make that possible.
I want to share that as a sponsor. Greenwood Capital has compensated my business for this testimonial.
And for more information about how they can help you make a financial plan, Plan for the future. Go to Greenwood Capital dot com. That's Greenwood capital dot com. Okay, let me bring Ann Goldberg on, and you all can meet her. Hello, Ann.
Ann Goldberg:Hi, Wendy. I am so excited to be here.
Wendy Green:Oh, me too. I mean, there's a million questions.
So I want to start, though, by having you tell me a little bit about your first career and what led you to leave that world behind.
Ann Goldberg:Well, I started recruiting back in the 70s, and when I had children, I decided it was time to leave that behind. And with side projects, I raised my kids for about 10 years and then jumped back into the workforce recruiting again, and it was great.
And then: Wendy Green:A difficult time to find work.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah, Yeah. I left to raise my kid.
Wendy Green:Okay. And so did you find when you were recruiting that that gave you a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning?
Ann Goldberg:It gave me a sense of identity, but it did not give me a purpose.
Wendy Green:Okay.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah. Was very different.
Wendy Green: So what. What happened in: Ann Goldberg:Well, as I said, the four years leading up to it had been very difficult. And on this particular day, I got fired from another job. Most of them I quit.
This one I got fired from because I never should have taken it in the first place. And I came home because I was just looking to make money. And I came home and I just said, sit. I surrender. I surrender.
I don't know how to make money, obviously, and I certainly don't know how to do it doing something that I would love to do. I don't know who would pay me to do anything.
Wendy Green:Who would pay you? Yeah.
Ann Goldberg:So I'll watch for the signs. Send me signs. I'll be watching. But until then, I'm just going to help my friends.
I'd had a friend who had surgery, and I was just going to go and help her out, which I did. It took 10 days for my phone to ring six times, and each of the six times, the voice on the other end said approximately the same thing.
Okay, I hear you teach computers to seniors. I don't remember who told me, but I hear you do that. And I was wondering if you could help me. And I never said that to anybody. Never told anybody.
Wendy Green:You never told anybody you teach computers to seniors?
Ann Goldberg:No. No.
Wendy Green:That's weird.
Ann Goldberg:I told somebody I could do them a, I could do a PowerPoint for them, but that was it.
Wendy Green:Wow.
Ann Goldberg:And they all, like I said, they said about the same thing and none, none of them could remember where they found out. And at the sixth call, I remember I looked up, I said, okay, message received. I'm supposed to teach seniors how to use computers.
hat moment in space, this was:I mean they were around before, but it was a mix until I realized smartphones was the way to go. And the minute that I made my first call to my first independent living and said that I teach seniors, I got a job.
The first call and doors just flew open and it was so obvious I was in my right place. I'll tell you a funny story.
I had, I needed back surgery and I was in a tremendous amount of pain and I would hobble into the, wherever I was teaching and I would be in enormous pain. I'd stabilize myself and the class would start and for one hour I was not in pain.
Wendy Green:Isn't that something?
Ann Goldberg:It's amazing because you were hyped, you.
Wendy Green:Were excited about what you were doing.
Ann Goldberg:Was so hyper focused on teaching and yes, so excited to be there. And as soon as the class was over, it was like, oi.
Wendy Green:So you had to just keep teaching. So let me ask you this, did you have a background in computers?
Ann Goldberg:No, not in any official way, but I did work on the old keyboard input key punch computers back in the late 70s and I was married in the 80s to a man who took to them very early. So I grew up with PCs from the late 80s and I just always had one. And I was always an entrepreneur and wanting to do things myself.
So I'm self taught and, and I've always been good with gadgets, so it's kind of an innate thing for me.
And what really distinguishes me from pretty much every other senior who deals with technology is that when my phone does something unexpected, it doesn't scare me. It might piss me off.
Wendy Green:That's right.
Ann Goldberg:But it doesn't scare me. It's like, okay, what is this? And I can all, I can almost always figure it out.
And if not, I know who to ask, I know where to Google well, and that's key.
Wendy Green:That's key, you know, But I think what. You're exactly right. I think that so many people in our age group, when they. When something goes wrong, it's like, oh, my God, I broke it.
Or if I try to do anything, it's going to break. How do you calm people with that? An. I mean, that's seems like it's innate to you. How do you calm other people in your classes?
Ann Goldberg:It's absolutely expected that you will feel that way. And a lot of it has to do with them, really, not knowing the proper gestures to use.
So just as an example, if I'm looking at my phone and I just tap, and a tap is. Is the same kind of thing. You don't have to see my screen, but the tap is the same kind of thing.
If you're touching a very hot iron, you want to make sure it's hot. Remember those days? And you would touc it, like barely touch it. Touch it. That's a tap.
However, if they take the same app and they tap and hold for one second longer, oh, something different happens. And it's not even a second, it's a millisecond. And when that something different, something unexpected happens. It's terrifying.
Wendy Green:It is.
Ann Goldberg:What did I do? What did I do? But you didn't do anything. That's the beauty. You did nothing. All you did was give a different command.
You didn't realize you gave a different command to the phone, but that's what happened because its language is gestures. That's why they're called touch screens, because we touched them to communicate with the phone.
And the only thing that bypasses the gestures is when you say, either, hey, Siri, or okay, Google. And then you direct the phone verbally.
Wendy Green:So it's language is gestures, which is certainly something that none of us grew up with. You know, we grew up with typewriters. So making the switch to an electronic keyboard or whatever, a keyboard on a computer was not as difficult.
Ann Goldberg:Right, right. Because the keyboard stayed the same. We grew up in an era of buttons and levers. That's what turned everything. And typewriters were still buttons.
The electric was softer. They were so nice. And, you know, then. Then we moved, like you said, a keyboard. It's exactly like it is.
And in point of fact, the phones have the same keyboards. Now, when it was really difficult was in the flip phones and the cell phones, where the keyboard was like a telephone pad.
And if you wanted to say, call me, you had to go to the ABC button and go boom, boom, boom. And if you Wanted it capital. You had to go boom, boom, boom. And then you had to go boom.
And then you had to stop, let it reset, and then, you know, and it was pain in the neck. Whereas smartphones, they have that typewriter keyboard. So those of us who were touch typists, that's.
That's not as difficult to transition because at least you know where the numbers and letters are.
Wendy Green:Okay, so I have to ask you this. Like you, you watch the kids on the keyboards. It's all the thumbs, right? I'm with my one finger, right.
Do you know anybody in our age group that's thumb, thumb typing?
Ann Goldberg:I have not seen maybe one person, maybe one. But they were in the very young age of the age group. I am like this, and I am not going to do this.
And besides which, I don't want the repetitive motion issues that happen with this. I'm happy with my fingers, but the young people use that white and by us boomers.
Wendy Green:I know my kids make fun of me. I'm like, oh, well, so that I still get it done. It may not be as fast, but I still get it done.
So what are some of the things that you find really, like, the most questions are most confusing for. For people that you teach?
Ann Goldberg:Most confusing is how, how to answer a call or what to do when you're on a call and the call and the phone rings.
Wendy Green:Oh, another call comes in.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah, another call comes in. And I think that's part of it. But I think really what's most. The solution, what's most confusing? I'll say this is to learn to read the phone screen.
So when my phone is up here and let's say I open an app, even if it's my phone app, and if I start looking at every icon and even touching them, what happens? What happens if I touch here? Oh, look, the screen changed. I could see that. But I could touch here again and it goes away.
And what happens if I touch here and oh, the screen changed, but I can touch there again. I can't see a thing. I touch there again and it goes back. So when you read the screen, you will likely find the answer to your question.
It's just that in my experience, approximately 99% of seniors that I teach, I'm talking 75 to 90, forget the English language when they're looking at a phone screen, because they can go through adding a contact and then no first name, last name, fill all that. Now they're done. What do I do? Look at the screen. What do you see? And depending on the program.
If you start in the top, right, you might see the word done here. And they'll say, you know, there's nothing done. And then they keep reading the screen. What does done mean? Right, what does done mean? Finished.
I said, are you finished doing what you're doing? So you're done, right? Yes. Tap done.
Wendy Green:Tap done.
Ann Goldberg:And I'm telling you much every senior, it's a point of amusement. And I laugh with it because for me, it's not the phone, but it's something else that I could look at it and not understand. Even though it's English.
Wendy Green:Yeah.
Ann Goldberg:Medical journals had something else that's really the. There's such a fear associated with the phone that it shuts the brain down. And I'm all about waking it up.
Wendy Green:Waking it up. That's good. Okay, so. So we're sitting in your class and you've got people with iPhones and people with Androids. Yeah, to me, they're very different.
I mean, I have an Android, my mother has an iPhone. I can mostly find my way around the Android, but when I go and help her, I'm like, oh, my gosh, how do I do this? Where is that?
And how do you do that with two different operating systems in one class?
Ann Goldberg:Well, the first thing I do, when I introduce the subject, I ask the question, I distinguish how the phones are different. And by that I'll use the metaphor of a gas engine and an electric engine.
On cars, the gas engine is designed this way, but when you get into the driver's seat, dashboard is designed, and depending on who made the car, it's got a particular design.
When you get into an electric car, the insides are completely different, but you open the door, you get in, there's a steering wheel, does the same thing. Dashboard's different. There are different operating systems. So Android has the Android operating system and app.
IPhones have the Apple iOS operating system. And if you understand that, you understand that they both do the same things, but just like brands, they do them differently.
When you go into public or you go into Aldi's, those are very different shopping experiences. But the end product is you leave with a shopping cart full of food.
Wendy Green:Yeah, yeah.
Ann Goldberg:So that's the first thing. And once they understand that, I can say, all right, everybody open up your. Your email app. And I'm dealing then usually with Gmail or Apple mail.
So I'll say, how do you write a mail? And I walk around the room with Apple. You're going to look for the spot up here. And I'll Take somebody's Android.
People with an Android and trades are all different because they all have different dashboards. Because Androids are made by different companies.
Wendy Green:That's right.
Ann Goldberg:LG Samsung is the biggest and hundreds of others that are around the world. Apple is only Apple. And every Apple device with each update looks the same, operates pretty much the same, especially the tablet and the iPhone.
Oh, so when you're teaching Androids, even if you're in a class of only Android, if people have. Even if they have all Samsung and they have different models, phones are going to be different. Not everything is in the same place.
Not everything looks the same. But I know what I'm looking for. And I can always search. I use the search function. If I don't know what it is, I ask the phone, how do I do this?
Or Siri, open up this app. Such and such ad if I don't know where it is on the phone or okay, Google, open this app.
Wendy Green:But okay, Google, you have to have it open or something. Because mine doesn't always. Okay, Google, I have to.
Ann Goldberg:You have to set your voice, so you have to go into settings. So I don't have an Android, but I know 100.
You're gonna have to swipe up or if you have settings on your home screen or on your main phone, open settings. And at the top there's a search bar. And I would say they. I type in the word face and see what comes up.
And probably they'll have face recognition or something like that. You'll go, yeah, yeah, that's what I want.
Wendy Green:Okay. Or voice or something.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, ask the phone itself.
Wendy Green:Okay, I'm gonna have to remember that. I think my mom is listening. So when we need to adjust her hearing aid, we're gonna say, what brand.
Ann Goldberg:Hearing aid does she have? Oh, I don't know, she might have Widex or she might have. I can't remember this signal or something insignia like I have.
You can just say, okay, Google, open the Signia app. Or oh, oh, she has an iPhone. Hey, Siri, open the Signia app.
Wendy Green:Oh my gosh, you have just saved us so much time, Ann, because we, we're like doing this, growing through.
Ann Goldberg:Okay, so here's another thing you can do. You swipe left, swipe left until you get to this screen. Yep, that's all the apps.
Wendy Green:That's what we've been doing.
Ann Goldberg:And that's a perfectly acceptable way when you can't. When you don't know where an app is don't even bother looking for it. Either that or ask Siri to open it for you.
Wendy Green:Okay, so, so here's something that happens to all of us, right? Like if, if we use, say that, okay, Google or Siri app all the time, don't talk to me.
My phone's trying to talk to me now, you know, then that becomes easy. We're used to it. But an app that we don't use all the time, like WhatsApp, right? So we use that to talk to relatives overseas.
But when you don't use it all the time, like, how do people, how do you get your, your students to remember those things that you teach them when they're not using them all the time?
Ann Goldberg:Well, first of all, what I tell them and what I say in the book is I'm a great teacher. That's only a piece of the equation. For you to learn, you have to practice. And that's the same method of learning.
Since we're babies, a baby doesn't stand up one day and know how to walk, right? We've all watched them practice, practice, practice until they found their balance. And it is the same thing with forming new memories.
It's the whole science of neuroplasticity that the brain will expand the more it's used and it will shrink the less it's used. So if you really Want to learn WhatsApp, you'll truly learn it when you just use it more. It's a wonderful app.
And one of the things that is really good about it is that you can have group chats that show up differently and don't blow up your text messages in the same way. And as you said, you can video conference WhatsApp.
If you and your mom want to video conference each other, okay, you're going to use WhatsApp because she can't use FaceTime because you don't have an iPhone, Right. And you can't use Google Meet because she doesn't have Google Meet.
Wendy Green:Right?
Ann Goldberg:So you're going to use an app like WhatsApp, third party app, where you can either call or video chat, which is the umbrella term for FaceTime, which is a trademark term, kind of like cotton swabs and Q tips.
Wendy Green:Okay. Okay.
Ann Goldberg:So what's the terrific. And the more you use it, the easier it will be to use.
Wendy Green:For sure. And the nice, other nice thing about WhatsApp is you can talk.
Like if you travel, you can talk back home without having to buy a special service for your phone and there's no charge.
Ann Goldberg:And that's Right. There's a caveat to that, though, because it needs to be on a WI FI network. That's the caveat.
Wendy Green:Okay, so I didn't know that.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah.
So it's great if you're in a hotel, a coffee shop or something like that, but if you're not getting roaming data, you're not going to have the signal that's going to drive the WhatsApp.
Wendy Green:Okay. All right, good to know. So we've kind of talked a lot about how the phone is. So it's a great connectivity tool.
Ann Goldberg:Right.
Wendy Green:And. And the more comfortable we get with it, the more we overcome our fear.
But let's talk about staying safe on the phone because, oh, my gosh, Anne, the text messages that are coming in now are like every day wild.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah. Multiple a day. Multiple. So this is what I have to say about that.
Let's say you're walking down the street and you stop, you're looking in a store window. Somebody taps you on the shoulder and says to you, wendy, you're like, huh? How do you know my name? I've got an investment deal for you.
And he goes through a litany of this and that. Are you going to give him any money? Are you, you going to engage with him?
Wendy Green:No, no, right.
Ann Goldberg:Of course not. It's a complete stranger. What if a complete stranger said to you, tapped you on the shoulder and said, hey, Wendy, I saw you.
I don't know if you're married. I saw you on some dating program. You have a profile. And he says, I really like you, Wendy. You know, we have a lot of the same interests.
I. I think you're incredible and special. What would you do? Is that somebody you would date? Who tapped you on the shoulder and started talking like that? I, for one, scared to death.
How do you know who I am? Okay, so take that, that innate trust of the stranger, and apply it now to your cellular world.
Any text that comes in that isn't from your doctor's office or something you absolutely know is real because you, you know, you just were there. Or a website where you bought something and now they're coming in and asking you for a review. I have a thought about that in a minute, too.
I don't care if your bank, you ignore your investment company, you ignore.
And what you do is you either call your bank, or if you're comfortable going online, you get the address online, the URL, the Internet address online, go online, log into your account, or go on your phone and log into your account and know there's Nothing wrong. Microsoft does not monitor its 1.2 billion computers on the planet. Isn't texting you if you owe them anything?
The post office doesn't have your phone number, and, my God, they barely have the manpower to deliver the mail. You think they're making phone calls?
You know, I actually had a FedEx package that I forgot was coming to me, and I got a notice from FedEx says, Track your package here. I deleted it, and then.
Because if I really was curious, I would have gone to FedEx and figured out how to find out if there was a package coming to me, but I would not engage with that.
Wendy Green:So the bottom line is, if you get a text, even if it looks legit, it's your bank. It's Costco, it's Amazon, It's. You know, any. If it looks legit, still don't click on it. Call, find out if that's really them.
Ann Goldberg:Absolutely. And the same with email. There's no job offers coming to you. There's no. None of that. No police are coming after you. The irs.
You think the IRS can send you a text? They have the manpower to do that. It's obscenely absurd. So it's about fear. And I'll tell you a couple a very interesting statistic.
Young people are scammed more often than seniors. Seniors lose much more money because we have more assets. Isn't that interesting?
Wendy Green:That is interesting.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah. It's a crazy world out there. But the safest thing you can. This is my policy. I do not engage.
Just the same as I wouldn't engage with that stranger tapping me on the shoulder. I do not engage with emails or texts or phone calls from people that I don't know who they are. And this goes back 30 years when. When the local.
When I bought a house and the local.
Local fence company and the lawn company, and they would all start calling, and I would say, I'm sorry, you have a tough job, but I don't deal with unsolicited businesses. I'll look you up online. If you're somebody I want to work with, I'll let you know.
Wendy Green:So that's unusual, because what I keep reading about, why so many people get scammed is because we are a trusting generation. You know, we grew up to be polite.
Ann Goldberg:Yes.
Wendy Green:We trust the neighbors, and so we're easier to target or polite. And it's fearful. You know, if you're.
If you get a message from your bank that says you have overdrawn, you're going to be like, oh, my God, what's happening?
Ann Goldberg:See, and what I'm saying is when you see that text, don't go, oh my God, go, aha. Okay, well this means I need to either call or go online to my bank and, and take a look at my account. Delete it.
Just delete it, lock it, report it as spam, get rid of it. Do not engage with an unsolicited contact. And here's.
I'm going to give you the best, the best tip for grandparents scams, which not only, which could also be brother scams, nephew scams, you know, parent scams, children. I mean it can be anything. Create a family password so you. Yep. You and your immediate group, anybody that you would respond to like that.
And so then if you get a call and it absolutely sounds like your kid because artificial intelligence has cloned his voice or her voice or your grandkid and really sounds like it, you know, so all you have to do is say, oh gee honey, tell me the password. They don't know it and you're gonna go, good ass sucker and hang up the phone or boom, gone.
Wendy Green:Yeah.
Ann Goldberg:Okay. You do not engage. And another way to know if there's some, if you don't have a family password.
The minute he says, I need you to send me the money through Bitcoin or Western Union. Western Union is non returnable. Once you wire somebody through Western Union, you cannot get it back. Gift cards are non returnable.
So these methods of payment are felonious in and of themselves. I hope that's a word in and of themselves because no legit, my kid wouldn't be calling me and asking me for bitcoin.
They say, mom, can you sell me some money right away? Yeah, that's what they would say.
Wendy Green:So, so the grandparent scam is, is what? Tell me, tell me how that works, Anne.
Ann Goldberg:You answer the phone and it's in this case grandparent. It's, it's your grandson. And in, in days before AI, the connection was bad. So grandma, now I would know right away because I'm not grandma.
My kids don't call me that.
Wendy Green:Okay.
Ann Goldberg:So as soon as I heard, I would hear grandma, I would know this is a scam. But moving right. So anybody you know whose name is not Grandma?
Wendy Green:Yeah.
Ann Goldberg:Right away that that's a key. But if, if they go by, if you are grandma and you're. I'm. I'm in trouble. I had a car, car accident.
And you can't quite hear and you can voice, they're static. I, I need you to send me money. And that's where it starts.
So people who trust everything who live from that place, especially 80 plus years old, especially, are very vulnerable to this type of manipulation.
So that's why having a password with your children, your grandchildren who are old enough to be out and about, my 5 year old doesn't need to know a password. Yeah, right.
Wendy Green:He's not calling by himself.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah, but you know, my kids, we. We have a family password. My husband, his son, we have a family password.
So if anything were to happen and I got a call and alleging to be my husband, I would say, what's the password, babe? And if you didn't know it, I'd be, goodbye, Charlie.
Wendy Green:All right, that's good advice. That's good advice. So y' all listening? Don't click on a link. Check it out first. Don't engage. Right. And have a family password.
So in case somebody's trying to scam you, you can just quickly get off the phone and I, you know, I would probably follow up and call my daughter or something and say, is, is your, is your daughter out of town? Is she whatever? Yeah, she's.
Ann Goldberg:No, she's in the living room watching television. Right.
Wendy Green:Did she just call me? No.
Ann Goldberg:Okay. It's just bogus. Yeah. You know, I just want to say, just think of these intrusions as strangers wanting your money. That's it. That's all they are.
They're strangers wanting your money.
Wendy Green:And like we taught our kids, strangers are bad. Don't talk to strangers.
Ann Goldberg:The emails that are coming in half due amount, I mean, and all kinds of things that. One of them, I had to really look at it and I said, this is bunk. I know. And I block them. I report them as spam all the time.
Wendy Green:Yeah, people are evil out there doing that stuff. So take this phone and shove it. You're. You're teaching people to love their phones. Where did you come up with that name?
Ann Goldberg:I think that's how they feel about them. I do want to take you from wanting to shove your phone to wanting to love your phone. That's my goal.
Somebody buying the book is because they hate their phone. They hate it, but they have to have it because their kids make them have it.
Wendy Green:So how's that going to help me if I have this book?
Ann Goldberg:Well, oh, lots of ways, but I want to give a statistic before I promote my book.
Wendy Green:Okay.
Ann Goldberg:They did a Meta study of 400,000 60 to 80 year olds, and they were actually looking for proof of digital dementia that staying on the phone a lot of would, like, fry your brain. What they found, however, was that those seniors who were daily engaged with a smartphone, tablet or computer were 58% less likely to get dementia.
Wrap your brain around that 58% less likelihood of losing your marbles. That's the beauty of engaging with technology, because your brain is making decisions. With every move you make, you're stimulating your mind.
It's like running a marathon for your brain. Okay, and so why do you buy my book? And what will my book do for you? First of all, it will give you perspective. Like, how did we get here?
Like, long ago I had a phone like this, you know, in my kitchen. And then, and then it was that portable phone that as long as you were a thousand feet from the base, it was great. And then it started to change.
Technology started to change. So I go through and reminisce of what it was like growing up in the 50s, largely, and what it is today. And what was this progression of technology?
How did we get here? And then once those points have been made, there's a chapter on the obstacles to learning.
And I address all of the things that we've been talking about here. And then it goes into lessons. It's introducing how do you turn the phone on and off, both Android and iPhone, and how do you use Siri?
What's artificial intelligence? The basic acts. I have one chapter that's about 150 pages and about 100 images that goes through what's an email.
And it's both Gmail and Apple Mail texting, which covers not only text messages, but WhatsApp and the clock app, which is for me the greatest thing on my phone because I'm not late for appointments, usually when I have my clock act, because I set timers and alarms, so I want everybody to know that. And the gps, because if you're out and about mobile, you need to know how to use your GPS because it's life changing. So.
And then lots of other tips and tools on, on how to use enjoy and stay safe online.
Wendy Green:I love it. And there's a lot of humor built into it as well.
Ann Goldberg:Correct. Take this phone and shove it.
And there's a lot of support because I know you can do it if you put your mind to it and you practice as if you were learning an instrument. You spend five or ten minutes a day doing the same thing again and again until all of a sudden you go, wait.
I know that doesn't matter if it takes you three days, two days, or weeks. It doesn't matter as long as you keep doing it. Your brain Will. Will respond at some point with a new memory and a new skill, and.
Wendy Green:You'Ll know where to look for it. If you do forget the phone, your. Your book, or your website, which is also called Take this phone and Shove it dot com.
And on there, there's videos and there's, you know, all kinds of other ways that you can engage with. And so take this phone and shove it. Nobody's going to forget the name of that. That's because we say it right.
Ann Goldberg:Take this photo.
Wendy Green:Shove it. So I'm sure that you laugh every day about those kinds of things.
Ann Goldberg:You do? I do. And. And that's another thing. You know, I just. My parents have been gone for 20, 30 years. 30 and 40 years.
I love working, working with people older than me. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
And when I see this, then I know I made a good impression on somebody because I changed something for them where they just light up and, oh, my God, that's how it is. So I just love that.
Wendy Green:And they. And, you know, they know that you understand because you're one of them, too.
So, you know, it's kind of like, well, if she can do it, maybe I can do it, too.
Ann Goldberg:Yep. And you can. You absolutely can. I believe in you.
Wendy Green:Thank you. So, Annie, where can they find your book? Is it out yet? What are we doing here?
Ann Goldberg:Well, we've had a few months of delays in graphic design, and that's okay. Everything is in its proper order.
The best way to know that when the book is out is to go to my website, takethisphoneandsheva.com and sign up for the newsletter. The newsletters will only contain tips and tools to help you with your smartphone and will let you know when the book is available.
It will be on Amazon. It will eventually will be in Barnes and Noble and hopefully in bookstores everywhere through my distribution platform. So that is the best way.
Just sign up for the newsletter, and until then, you're going to get useful information for you, but I won't bombard you with it, I promise.
Wendy Green:And if they wanted to take a class with you, are you teaching locally online, how does that work?
Ann Goldberg: -: Wendy Green:Okay. And so there could be some zoom trainings that might be available.
Ann Goldberg:Absolutely. Absolutely. Awesome. Zoom Microsoft Teams. I mean, it's good to know all of them because the Zoom platform's not the best to use anymore.
Wendy Green:Oh, okay. All right, fantastic. Let me remind people to also sign up for my newsletter, go to hey Boomer Biz and click on Age well with us.
We will also give you tips about aging. Well, not about using your phone very.
Ann Goldberg:Much, but your newsletter is great, Wendy. You write beautifully.
Wendy Green:Oh, thank you so much.
Ann Goldberg:Yeah, I read it.
Wendy Green:Oh, thanks. I. I enjoy doing it. It really is fun. And I also want to thank our sponsor, Greenwood Capital for sponsoring this podcast.
They are an independent registered advisory firm providing wealth management, investment solutions and financial planning to clients in 23 states.
So that also one of the things that we're doing here is, you know, I have this collaboration group of women podcasters talking to the over 55 to 60 year old age group. And this month I am paired with Fading Memories podcast and it is put out by my friend Jennifer Fink. And on that Jennifer has. Oh boy.
Jennifer has walked in these shoes of caring for her mother through her dementia.
And so she discusses brain health recommendations, effective caregiving techniques and self care strategies, all crucial for aging gracefully and navigating the challenges of being a caregiver. So check her out atfading memories podcast.com.
i also want to tell you next week we are not going to have a show because I'm going to the beach with my sweetie. So I'll be at the beach over the weekend and in through Monday. So I'm taking Monday off. Yes, I'm looking forward to that.
But I will be back on the 28th of July and it's, it's going to be an interesting show. It's something called three Wheel. Three Wheel Therapy.
It's with a man named Bill Seppi and their mission is to provide free therapeutic bicycle rides on what they call an adaptive tricycle to anyone who cannot ride a traditional bicycle. So Bill's wife and he used to ride together all the time. She had a stroke, she couldn't ride.
Now he can ride her and ride with her again on this three wheeled tricycle called three Wheel. It's called three Wheel Therapy. So that should be an interesting show. Thank you. Annie. I'm sorry I should call you.
Ann Goldberg:And I'm sorry we're friends now.
Wendy Green:I know. So thank you all my listeners too for tuning in each week. And until next week, I'm Wendy Green and this has been Boomer Banter.
Ann Goldberg:Bye.
