Technology makes me feel I don’t really belong in this world | Ask Philippa

For older people, the internet plays on the part which is in all of us, that is alone and unknown, says Philippa Perry

The question As a retired woman living alone, I felt isolated during the various lockdowns. The answer seemed to be to rely on technology, which was fine when it worked, but it often made me feel more cut off from the world. For example, when I didn't know how to unmute myself on a video call it was like having locked-in syndrome. Emerging from the pandemic, things are better, except Covid has made technology the way forward and I can't always get it to work for me.

I've been to a pub where I had to forgo lunch because I couldn't order on the app. I know people who have gone abroad for holidays, but I've been too scared to go because of the passenger locator form, which you had to complete online while out of the country (how?). I have a mobile phone I often struggle with - for months I didn't know how to answer a call, so I had to wait for people to ring off, then I had to call them back.