Support someone else

9 million people in the UK cannot use the internet without help (Lloyds CDI, 2020)

You don't have to be an expert to help someone else to use the internet. On this page, you'll find useful resources to help you get started.

By supporting even one person, you are helping to fix the digital divide.

We’ve put together some tips and tricks to help you get started.

Use their hobbies and interests to motivate them

The person you’re sitting with will be more motivated to learn how to use their device if you show them how it will have a positive effect on their everyday life.

Does the person like gardening? Show them a gardening website. Cooking? Show them some cooking tutorials on YouTube. Relating skills back to real life examples will also help motivate people to learn more.

Be patient

Patience is key when showing someone anything new for the first time, and using a device and the internet is no different. People learn in different ways and at different speeds. Some will pick it up straight away while others like to go over things a few times to make sure they’ve got it right. Appreciating this and congratulating them on little milestones will help keep people on track and their confidence increasing.

Don’t expect too much too quickly

If someone’s never used a device or the internet before, they won’t become confident using it on their own straight away. As with any new skill, it takes time to develop the knowledge needed to feel good about using the internet. Managing their expectations will help prevent them from feeling like they’re not understanding it quick enough or that it’s too much to learn.

Be aware of tools to help you help them

There are lots of resources and tools on the internet to help people get to grips with their device and the internet. Have a look around and see what you can find to help them broaden their knowledge and increase their confidence.

Top Tip: The free ‘How to be a Digital Champion’ course on our free online learning platform Learn My Way will tell you everything you need to know about becoming a Digital Champion, including how you can inspire people to ‘give it a go’ and learn new things.

By completing this course you will gain the confidence and knowledge to be able to support your local community to go online. It will provide you with the skills to support people on a one to one basis or help small groups. You’ll also come away with ideas and tips on how to help them use the internet.

Not sure where to start?

Take a look at our free guides designed to help you support others.

Guide to supporting someone on Learn My Way

Learn My Way is a website of free online courses for beginners, helping people develop digital skills to make the most of their online world.

You can use these short guides to help someone get the most out of Learn My Way. They contain extra activities and ways to practise skills covered in the courses.

Guide: Using games to teach tablet skills

This guide is designed to help you to introduce older people to tablet computers by using games. It doesn’t matter if you’re helping friends or family members, people you live with, or people you support as part of your job or a volunteering role.

Guide: Helping older people to use the internet

Inside this guide, you’ll find lots of tips on how to get started. There’s also advice if you’re interested in setting up long-term learning for a group of older people.

You don’t need to be a computer expert to be able to provide good help. If you feel confident using the internet by yourself, you know enough.

Reboot UK Digital Inclusion cards

These cards are for organisations that want to offer support to improve people’s digital skills. They’re a conversation starter for a group of staff or volunteers. They demonstrate that helping people to improve their digital skills can take different forms.

The cards were developed to be used by people who will provide digital skills support.

Helping others guides

Created in collaboration with the BT Group, we've created a range of online guides to help your service users get the most of the internet.

Embedding digital inclusion into the existing offer at your organisation

Good Things Foundation has worked closely with our network partners to create a range of remote support resources to help organisations deliver digital skills support online.

This includes guides, tips, courses, documents, advice and other useful resources to use when teaching people digital skills when you can not be in the same room together.

Let's Fix the Digital Divide together

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed and exacerbated digital exclusion across the UK. Digital inclusion is no longer a nice-to-have, but a need-to-have and people still urgently need access, digital skills and support. We appreciate donations of any size as your donation can contribute to getting more households connected and comfortable using technology.

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