Since January 2020, one of our members has been participating as an assistant in a computer course at the municipal senior center ‘José Manuel Bringas’ to conduct research. With about 9 students per class, the objectives were to help the seniors with their tasks and to conduct participant observation on the use of computers and mobile phones. The educational center is located in Orcasitas, a historically active neighborhood composed of older residents from rural Spain.
In March, COVID-19 closed all of Spain, including day centers and nursing homes, leaving only online communication. The vast majority of users have smartphones and occasionally computers, so our colleague and the main instructor organized video calls via jitsi.org for the course students to continue trying out new applications and to stay connected with the rest of the community.
Meanwhile, they continued communicating in WhatsApp groups — a very popular application in Spain, also among older adults. This tool holds significant research value due to its popularity and simplicity, making it a central focus of the research. Additionally, course participants have been interviewed by phone to analyze how they are coping with the confinement through the use of communication technologies. The day center has also created a video to motivate seniors to stay at home.