Let us start by making the phone feel familiar. It has just a few physical parts, and the rest happens on the screen.

You are in good company. 78% of adults 65 and older now own a smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2026). Most people your age already carry one; this is simply about feeling at ease with it.

The buttons on the outside (both iPhone and Android):

  • The screen is the glass front. Almost everything you do is by touching it.
  • The side button (power/sleep) turns the screen on and off with a quick press. A long press can turn the phone fully off or bring up an assistant.
  • The volume buttons on the side make sound louder or softer.
  • The charging port at the bottom is where the charging cable plugs in.

Waking and unlocking: press the side button once and the screen lights up. To get in, you either look at it (Face ID), touch a fingerprint reader, or type a short passcode. We set that up safely in Lesson 6.

A calming truth: you cannot break the phone by tapping the screen. The worst that happens is you open something you did not mean to, and you simply go back. Curiosity is safe here.

A quick example. Your phone screen is dark. You press the side button once and it lights up. You look at it (or type your code) and the home screen appears. You just woke and unlocked your phone, the two things you will do most.

What to do:

  • Find the side button and the two volume buttons on your phone.
  • Practice pressing the side button to turn the screen on and off.
  • Remember: tapping the screen cannot break anything.
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