The cognitive load of updates, updates (and more updates)
Photo credit: Anthony Fomin / Unsplash
Updates are meant to improve our tech experience, but for anyone learning digital skills, updates can feel like starting from scratch. That theme came up again and again during a lively Tech Café I hosted at Amica Senior Lifestyles Dundas earlier today.
With the sun shining, we also dove into what 'spring cleaning' looks like for our devices. From creating shortcuts to organizing files, it turned into a wide‑ranging, practical conversation.
Residents raised thoughtful points that anyone building or supporting inclusive technology should keep in mind:
Updates disrupt familiarity: Even small changes can feel like learning a device all over again.
Too many notifications: With multiple apps updating constantly, it’s hard to know which ones actually matter.
Security friction: Authentication prompts, new passwords, and verification steps add complexity.
Non-adaptive interfaces: When design doesn’t adjust to changing needs, usability suffers.
If we want inclusive technology, we must rethink how updates are introduced, communicated, and supported.
One thing you can do today to ease the burden of smartphone updates? Turn on automatic updates. Here’s how:
On iPhone
Go to Settings (gear icon that looks like this: ⚙️), then follow these steps: General > Software Update > Automatic Updates > Toggle Automatically Install
For applications, Go to Settings > Apps > App Store. Toggle on App Updates under the automatic downloads section.
On Android
Go to Settings, scroll to System (also called Software Update), and select System Update. Turn on Auto Download over Wi-Fi (also called Smart Update)
For applications, Go to Google Play Store, select your Profile Icon. In your profile, select Settings > Network Preferences > Auto-update apps and select Over Wi-Fi only.
