A youth-led nonprofit on Oahu is teaching older residents how to use phones, email, and AI, a small but positive answer to the digital gap that leaves seniors cut off and exposed to scams.

• Teen mentors say the biggest asks are basic phone use — calls, FaceTime, staying in touch with family — and email, from sending messages to recovering lost passwords.
• The group grew out of a Kauai church during COVID, when a volunteer started teaching seniors to use Zoom so they could follow services from home.
• A free public event runs Wednesday, September 2, from 8 to 11 a.m. at Nala Kuku as part of Hawaii Tech Week, with one-on-one help and group sessions.
• Online safety is a headline topic, since scams have become hard for anyone to tell apart from the real thing.
• Registration is open at techsavvyteens.org.

Outlook: Expect more of these mentoring programs as AI-powered scams make basic tech literacy a safety issue for older people, not just a convenience.