OPINION: Let's simplify remote communication

A favorite cartoon adorning our refrigerator shows a father spoon-feeding a baby in a high chair. The father says, “After I introduce you to solids, I’m going to need your help with some computer stuff.”

In reality, many people, young or old, find this joke a bit wry. It is certainly true that younger people who have grown up with computers have an easier time using them. But, like it or not, these days computers — especially cell phones and tablets — have become our primary means of remote communication. In fact, it is generally considered bad manners by younger people to call a person rather than to text them.

As a society, our system of remote communication has changed immensely over the years. The telephone left hanging on our kitchen wall is there as a historical relic. As a child, I remember my parents going to the phone booth at the corner of the street to make a phone call.

Long-distance phone calls were once expensive, the cost depending on the distance called, so airplane travelers often took the opportunity to call family or friends living in a city where the plane had a stop.

Recently, Pew Research estimated that as many as 97% of Americans own a cell phone or similar device. This is a dramatic increase from the 35% determined when Pew first studied the subject in 2011.

Routinely, cell phones are used to apply for goods or services. Cell phones are vital to people needing state or local public assistance for housing or food. By definition, these are people already experiencing stress and anxiety.

Many of us will be in this situation at one time or another. A recent Public Broadcasting System series entitled “America’s Safety Net” pointed out that “a majority of Americans, something approaching 60%, will experience poverty at some point in their lives.”

The PBS series also reported that approximately half the people eligible for state benefits don’t actually receive them. Users make applications via cell phone or another computer device. As one recipient explained “It’s very time consuming. They want to know every little penny.”

Simplifying the process for people in crisis mode is only humane and should be possible. Currently, people receiving state benefits are required to reapply every month. Extending the period for reapplication should be considered.

But it would be most valuable to redesign the application form to make it as simple as possible, as well as secure. This would require taking the perspective of the applicant. As is, it often appears that people who design applications see length and complexity as a virtue. That is a mistake. An excellent application form should combine security with ease and clarity for the applicant.

Doing so could benefit up to 60% of Americans who are expected to be in crisis mode — hungry or potentially homeless — at some time in their lives.

Janet McCabe and her husband, David, came to Alaska in 1964. She is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a member of Alaska Common Ground and Commonwealth North.

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