Active Aging

Take care of your devices to ensure longer technology life

 by Kenny Minger

 Did you know your device’s batteries typically drain faster in the winter? Did you also know keeping your phone plugged in overnight can cause the battery to lose life?

With so many wires and little pieces to your computer and phone, the world of technology can seem intimidating, especially when you encounter problems and things that go wrong. That’s why it’s important to learn little facts about technology to help you care for your devices and, potentially, extend their lives.

The biggest piece of advice for taking care of devices is to occasionally get your device cleaned, especially laptops and computers. Dust and hair from either you or your pets can build up in your devices, which is not good because the build-up can cause components like the fans or charging ports to not work properly. The fans are especially important. If they fail, your computer or laptop will not get proper air flow through it and it will overheat. Overheating can cause the device to shut down by force, or even cause damage to other parts inside of the computer.

So what can you do? It’s as simple as opening up your device and using compressed air in short bursts to get as much of the hair and dust out as possible. Don’t know how to open the device or not confident enough to do it yourself? That’s okay! Caution shows that you care about your device enough to make sure it’s done properly. You can find local technicians or go to places like Best Buy where they know how to break into the case and give your device a proper cleaning. While this will cost you some money, keeping your device dust-and-hair-free is important to keep it functioning for a long time. Another option: Stockbridge Area Senior Center has scheduled its next Tech Tuesday for February 13, and I will gladly help our community’s older adults during that time, without charge.

Using caution when browsing the internet is another extremely important means for taking care of your device. Those pop-up ads you see on your screen when reading news articles, downloading an image or other file, or installing a program or application are more predatory than ever. Make sure you take time—slow down for a moment—and pay attention to exactly where you are clicking or tapping. Accidentally clicking or tapping on the wrong thing can cause a number of headaches.

Always be aware of what button you are clicking. If you’re downloading a program, odds are, there will be as many as twenty different buttons that say “download.” This is another situation where you should slow down and take a moment to make sure you click on the right button. Many of the “fake” download buttons have a little box in close proximity that says it’s an ad, and sometimes it can be really easy to miss. You don’t want to click a download button that is an ad. One thing you can watch for: Does the style of the download button match the rest of the web page.

Also keep in mind that if you are using a web browser (example: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge) and you see a message from Microsoft in your browse, it’s likely just a scam and you can safely close the browser to get rid of it.

These little pieces of advice are some of the most overlooked or underutilized practices with technology and are great places to start when it comes to keeping your technology humming.

Kenny Minger is the Tech Tuesday specialist, administrative assistant, and bookkeeper at Stockbridge Area Senior Center—a great place to spend time. You may reach Kenny at kmingersasc@gmail.com or 517-480-0353. Visit SASC online at stockbridgeareaseniors.org or call 517-480-0353 for more information.

Tech specialist Kenny Minger shares laptop advice with Bob Cunningham (left photo) and tablet advice with Vaughn Russell (right photo) at the Stockbridge Area Senior Center. Image credit: Dana Blaszkowski