Tech gifts for unsavvy seniors may put your loved ones at risk

Thinking about getting grandma or grandpa

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a techno-gadget this holiday season? Wired seniors may be the way of the future, especially among those 60 to 70 years old. Nowadays, about 80 per cent of senior residents in the United States own cellphones, and about 42 per cent of them own smartphones. At least two thirds of Canadian seniors use the internet.

So, maybe you should give the newest gadget to baby boomers in your life. Except that, according to the Pew Research Centre’s Internet Project,these older internet users may be “sitting ducks” for technology-facilitated invasions of privacy.

Raised in a time when privacy was protected by the courts, older adults may not understand the extent to which technology opens the door to Big Brother. Canadian courts have long protected the privacy of body and home, denying even law enforcement the right to surveillance in homes and private spaces such as bathrooms.

https://theconversation.com/tech-gifts-for-unsavvy-seniors-may-put-your-loved-ones-at-risk-88913