He doesnt understand how to answer email.

My friend, let's let him hide behind the name Bob, is in his seventies.
Occasionally I send him  email but he doesn't answer back.
Every time I ring him he reminds me that he doesn't know how to answer
email.

This should make you think.
The traditional reaction of many younger is to conclude that he must be senile.
Now he's not stupid, and it's not going to get any better the longer it lasts.
So what's going on?
I dont have the answers, but we could explore some:

• He's getting "computer fright" (is that the right term) and this is getting ingrained. People who get this are also afraid of making a mistake, so they dont explore.
• He realises that once he wants to understand how to reply to email he's going to be learning lots more and he thinks the investment is not worth it.
• He's set in his ways.
• Somebody needs to show him.

Some people get out of it by writing a recipe: press this button and that and follow the recipe rigidly. Clearly this is not understanding.

One point I want to make is that adapting to a piece of technology can appear to require a huge investment, the little bit you learn is only the visible tip of an iceberg of knowledge.
New information always perturbs our system.

What I have just written is a rough draft. What do you think?