A smartphone to a man from the 60s.

While I was thinking of how to address this topic, I remembered how I engaged my pupils in grade 5 earlier this week. I was teaching them E-mail. In order to make them understand what Email is and the advantage it has over postal services, I mentioned three things for them that made email advantageous over posting letters.

I mentioned the speed of message dissemination, cost of dissemination and the convenience. Email delivers a message shortly after being sent provided that there is a network on both ends and the recipient checking his mails on time. This is an advancement from posting letters which may take days, weeks or more. The cost of sending mails is relatively cheaper and the message is delivered to the recipient anywhere and anytime which makes it more convenient.

Now going to the topic of explaining what a smartphone is to the man from the 60s. My approach to explaining what a smartphone is to man from the sixties is dependent on the level of exposure and knowledge of the person concerned. Some men from the 60s knew about the existence of telephone, fax and some old generation communication gadgets while others didn't know about such.

To draw the interest of whoever I am explaining to, I need to let him see the ways the knowledge of handling a smartphone could be beneficial. When a man knows the value of a knowledge, he would be spurred to get it. Just like I explained to my pupils how Email is of greater advantage to postal messages, a man from the sixties needed to know how a smartphone is of greater advantage than a telephone or a low featured phone.

If I were to explain a smartphone phone to the initial category, I would relate the explanation with what they knew. Smartphones make communication easier. Whereas telephones were not easily movable, smartphones are an advanced form of handset. This implies that someone can be with this wireless device anywhere anytime. So if you have to make a call while returning from the farm or market, you don't need to rush home to make the call. You can reach out to your device and make the call. Your ticket to the outer world is moving around with you.

Aside from voice communication, there are other functions of a smartphone that make it a computer in every sense. This machine makes it easy to communicate in many other ways. Sending mails, organizing video conferences, online audio and video meetings are achieved with a smartphone, a development from having to get a computer decades ago before achieving such.

In the area of information and entertainment, you can reach out to your smartphone to access radio and television services. Visiting the internet to read the latest news without necessarily having to wait for the purchase of the dailies or moving around with a radio box. In the area of storing information, I would explain to the man in the sixties how a smartphone could help them keep documents in Google drive or other online storage channels. A smartphone is enough to type and edit documents, help in computing figures and many other things.

I will let the man from the sixties know that smartphone functions can't be highlighted once. The only requirement to introduce a new function is to come up with an application for a specific function that is compatible with Android or iOS devices. Another great feature of a smartphone is the ability to run many applications concurrently.

For a man from the sixties who had no knowledge of telephone or communication gadgets at all, the explanation has to be from scratch. I would have to approach it like I approached the email topic with my pupils as explained earlier. His interest will be drawn to the topic by identifying the different ways that his daily activities could be made easier if he is using a smartphone just like dessemination of information was made easier with the advent of E-mail.

A man in Nigeria can communicate with a man in London instantly. You can send messages to people without needing to write a letter that takes weeks before being delivered. With this gadget, you can play your favorite games and watch live sporting activities from across the globe. A smartphone is a marketing tool for many. It is also used in paying bills and managing budgeting. It helps in creating and playing music, taking photos and recording videos. A smartphone makes life easier. It is easy to navigate through with a touchscreen.

It will be a gradual process in educating someone about a smartphone if he is a total novice about communication gadgets.

In conclusion, explaining to the man from the sixties what a smartphone is requires a lot of techniques and patience. The approach to be adopted is determined by the level of the technological exposure of the man. With the right approach, a man from the sixties or earlier can be taught the usage of a smartphone to his understanding.