I am looking to get my 89 year old mother a new cell phone. There is an over 99% chance she will not carry it around or use it. The one she has has been nearly untouched for years. But I want to have one there. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions of "smart phone" vs basic phone… I don't care about the bells and whistles on a smart phone, my criteria is something that will speed dial with the fewest steps and be easy for a person with moderate dementia. Thanks in advance.
I doubt if something happens she will (in a panic should something happen) recall how to use it or even where it is!
A land line or medic alert around the neck would be a wiser choice.
So if we are able to get our older seniors to use a cellphone, stress to them to be sitting down while using it. At least with a landline, the cord limits how far they can go while talking making it safer.... plus with a landline we don't hear them using the bathroom and flushing :0
Several years ago Fortune ran an interesting article about an executive who used a cell phone extensively, developed brain cancer and died. I don't know if the article would even still be available to cite whatever statistical correspondence there might have been, or if any testing was done, but at the time it was of great interest because cell phones weren't that widely used. There was another prominent individual who also developed brain abnormalities and was a cell phone user.
Coincidental, perhaps, but I still think the verdict hasn't been rendered on long term cell phone use, or at least use of a battery operated device so close to the brain.
Someone will probably come along and say "well, hearing aids have batteries - do they cause cancer and/or brain abnormalities?" Who knows, but they use a different sized battery, one that doesn't need to draw on more power to operate.
I'm wondering now about Google glasses, presumably with chips in the hardware so close not only to the brain but to the eyes.
I think it's time to step back and reassess the need for so much connectivity. I've felt for years that people are too anxious to jump on the bandwagon just because "everybody else" in doing it.
And there's always the earpiece, which at least keeps the cell phone away from the brain.
https://www.snapfon.com/
We have used the phone for over a year and never had a problem with reception. The battery charges quickly. The phone is not used much and stays charged for a long period of time.
Medical Alert Systems have backup batteries when power outages occur. The company also does a monthly test to make sure the unit is working properly or the user can test the unit to see if the unit is operating correctly and test the response time. There is a pendant or a bracelet that can be worn.
I am from the old school of back when so many said that cigarette smoking is harmless. I just don't want to take a chance with a cellphone. I realize there are many studies out there that say there is very little health risk with cellphones yet these studies are inconsistent with conflicting results. Newer studies need to be made as young people are glued to cellphones, more enhanced technology, and with cellphones now being connected to the internet, that means people are spending more time on these devices.
You can't call the *house* any more, you have to call the *person*, so instead of remembering one number for everyone in that house, you have to know a half dozen numbers as everyone has their own phone.... I'm getting too old for this :0
I have to carry my cellphone whenever I visit someone, just in case they no longer have a landline.... otherwise, what if the person you are visiting passes out and needs 911.... where's the phone?... in the past we use to run to the kitchen and there was always a phone. With a cellphone, it would be anywhere in the house, but where?
If you're worried about her contacting emergency services in case of a fall, fire, a break-in, etc., maybe you should get her one of those pendants she can. Wear around her neck and press to call for help.
MIL was given a cell phone and she never uses it. It just sits in the charger. When I tried to tell her over the land line how to use it, all she could tell me was that it had buttons with the numbers 1,2, and 3 on them. Of course, when she showed it to me, it had all the numbers. But in her mind, there were just those three.
I never got around to showing her how to use it because she got offended at me telling her what to do and had a screaming, cursing hissy fit.
If one only has cellphone access, all the dispatcher can find is the nearest cell tower and that creates a huge problem trying to find the location of the call.... sometimes the location can't be narrowed down for a half hour or more, by then it could be too late.
Plus with a cellphone, you have to have it near you at all times.... those of us who grew up with the landlines rather have a landline phone in every room instead... plus the call is sooooo much clearer. Thank goodness my Dad doesn't have a cellphone, he would be misplacing it 30 times a day.... if he is in the living room, he wouldn't hear it ring if he left it in the garage. With the landline, there are 6 phones ringing in the house.
AARP has a program with Consumer Cellular for reduced rates. I pay about $23 per month for mine and have I think 600 free minutes per month, which is more than I need since I only use the cell phone for emergencies.
I believe AARP is now offering its plan with a "Jitterbug" phone which has larger buttons and is easier for older fingers to use.
There's also no contract, a major advantage vs. the other carriers which require contracts. But your mother would have to join AARP, at $16/year.
Once you get the phone, program in the numbers she'll need, and if you can fit it, also print them out on a label and attach it to the phone. That's what I did for my father. Then he can refer to the speed dial numbers as well as retrieval instructions if he doesn't remember.