Older people play an outsized role in civic life. They also are more likely to be online targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric.
FORT WASHINGTON, MARYLAND — It’s late morning and roughly 25 senior citizens are learning how to talk to Siri. They pick up their iPads and press the home button, and pings echo around the room as Siri asks what she can do to help.
“Siri, what’s the closest coffee shop?” one woman asks.
“Sorry I’m having trouble with the connection, please try again?” Siri says.
A handful of employees with AARP, the national nonprofit focused on Americans age 50 and older, hover behind the participants and jump in to help. They’re in Fort Washington, Maryland, to deliver four free workshops about how to use an iPad. Participants learn how to turn it on, what an app is, how to text, and how to flip the camera to take a selfie, among other activities.
View the complete April 3 article by Craig Silverman on the BuzzFeedNews website here.