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Age 63 still in a professional job but unable to cope with tech

(36 Posts)
mrsnonsmoker Fri 05-Dec-25 14:27:54

I'm genuinely worried. Few examples - I thought I'd opened a new bank account, registered the app on my phone and then online on my laptop. I was then refused access to money unless I set up a biometric account, but I didn't realise that till 6 weeks after opening and thank god I only put £10 in there as a test. I had tried to transfer a very large sum but couldn't understand how to do that either (happy mistake!!)

Today I needed to complain about some pastries I received in my grocery order and I couldn't get through the telephone system to find out how to do it. These are just very small examples.

I've been on a course to understand how to use AI at work, its was online and I had to just turn my camera off and not take part it was so hard, I was the only one couldn't do it. I've noticed I can't learn new things at all.

I don't think this is normal at my age? How on earth will I cope in 5/10 years time? I'm worried this is a health issue - basically is this the start of dementia.

Luckygirl3 Sat 06-Dec-25 11:26:05

Find a local tutor. There is someone round here who specialises in teaching tech to seniors. And in helping them set up stuff when needed.... like a new laptop or an online bank account. Might be worth asking around. Good luck!
I live in the middle of nowhere and being on top of the tech is invaluable to me.

Luckygirl3 Sat 06-Dec-25 15:51:13

Try abilitynet.org or Age UK who also have tech volunteers.
Some cam help you over the phone.

Missedout Sat 06-Dec-25 17:56:32

I volunteer at to give IT support at our local library. I do my best to work out how to help the person sitting next to me. I don't see anyone as being 'stupid' for not having a 'techno brain'. I'm not superior, I can't write poetry or draw anything recognisable (or abstract for that matter), I'm not 'well read'.
However, the world has moved on and many are disadvantaged because 'technology' is not for them.
If I can help, I will. Most customers say they are useless when it comes to technology. Understanding something new takes time and patience. My advice is to give yourself a break, ask for help from someone sympathetic and be willing to take your time with them to gain some understanding. In that way, both benefit.
I don't always succeed, but when a customer stands up at the end of a session and thanks me because I have been able to help them, I feel really pleased for both of us.

mrsnonsmoker Mon 08-Dec-25 15:21:34

Thank you for all your responses so far. I think maybe I didnt explain clearly in my original post, or people have seized on work training as something that I can do. Today I transferred £5,000 to one of my accounts, then discovered I'd already arranged to do that yesterday. There was only £5k in the account, so now I could potentially be £5k overdrawn. Of course I'll ring up (if I can get through!) and sort it out. But surely you can't receive training not to do that?

Also I don't see how I could take in any more information, I feel I can't "learn". This is why I fear some sort of decline, and the example I gave about not being able to learn was from the Alzheimers society website.

Calendargirl Mon 08-Dec-25 19:16:00

Re the £5000 transfer? Could you not just move one of the amounts back to the original account, to get it back in credit?

Madmeg Mon 08-Dec-25 22:00:43

mrsnonsmoker, you could be me! I am finding at almost 74 that things involving technology change so fast that I have just got used to one system and suddenly it is different! And there are so many things that I do online that sometimes it seems that every single system I use is changing at the same time.

Things in my life in general seem to change too - like the system for appointments at the docs or the bus times, and nobody having a landline any more and I haven't got their mobile number!

Oldmumnewgran Fri 19-Dec-25 15:59:36

I don't think that not dealing with tech is a precursor to Alzheimers.
Most people who haven't been using it for over 30 yrs find it impossibly annoying.
And dealing with customer service loops is frustrating for everyone because they are designed to be as unhelpful as possible.

welbeck Fri 19-Dec-25 18:27:55

OP I agree that does sound rather different to struggling with work systems.
Whatever the reason I guess knowing it happens you need to check and double check before doing remote banking.
Was it online or over the phone.

Catterygirl Sat 20-Dec-25 00:01:45

What made it easy for me was that I was a touch typist from a very young age. Technology is my passion and I try to help others keep up. My son is probably ahead of me but we encourage each other. His fiance recently helped me with my eBay address printing and showed me how to Bluetooth my iPad to my Canon printer. 5 minutes to learn. Keep pressing and guessing as well as accepting advice.

Gummie Sat 20-Dec-25 12:51:35

I suspect it's lack of proper training which is common. We've grown up with technology and at 67 I'm perfectly happy to use it and to learn new processes and applications.

But at the same time I'm happy to ask anyone if for any reason I don't get it.

It's fair to say when I was still working it was me holding the hand of and training many of the younger ones, probably because I have more experience and have essentially grown up with technology.