In an unassuming community center in Tullamulla, on Sydney's north shore, a projection screen illuminates a contrasting scene: 102-year-old Dean Simes stands in front of a podium, explaining the structure of WhatsApp notifications and the logic of Excel formulas to a group of gray-haired students. The man believed to be Australia's oldest tech mentor is helping his peers keep up with the digital age.
Sims is the director of Computer Pals, an entirely volunteer-run organization that helps seniors improve their digital literacy. Under his leadership, the course content covers everything from how to operate Windows 11 to how to distinguish legitimate links from malicious links. His sense of authority stems not from age or nostalgia but from an ongoing curiosity that led him later in life to move from mining into computing education.
Computer Pals was founded in 2000, when Microsoft's Windows XP was released. Today, Sims can already teach in a variety of software environments, sometimes projecting an AI-generated course syllabus on a screen. The class emphasizes hands-on practice: Students like 94-year-old student Vera Last and her husband, Michael, try to install and set up apps on their Android phones themselves rather than just sit and watch demonstrations. Sims often tells them: "When someone shows you something, don't just watch. Do it yourself under supervision, and practice it over and over again when you get home."
This approach coincides with research in the field of informal learning: repeated practice helps strengthen neural pathways, especially during the period when working memory declines with age. Sims' own experience exemplifies this principle. He first came into contact with computers when he was working as a consultant in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until he was in his 80s that he bought his first second-hand computer.
What initially frustrates him quickly becomes an object of interest. In order to truly understand the system, interface and hardware, he enrolled in a three-year TAFE course to study the system. After completing his studies, he extended his knowledge outward and began to help others climb the same technical "high slope".
Now president of Computer Pals, Sims oversees the club's equipment and curriculum while constantly introducing new topics. Recently, he’s added courses on AI search engines, tools he considers “promising but far from perfect.” In class, he repeatedly reminded students to ask specific questions: "If you ask a general question at will, you are likely to fall into the information rabbit hole and read a lot of content that has nothing to do with your real needs."
Simultaneously evolving with Sims’ personal experience is research on “digital aging.” Some digital literacy advocates point out that young people who grew up with new technologies are often more willing to try their own hands, but it is more about mindset than year of birth that truly determines whether a person can adapt to technology. "Age and number are actually social constructs," an expert said in an interview with the media. "The key lies in your mentality." She also emphasized that anyone who uses the Internet needs to understand the psychological impact and potential risks behind technology, not just learn how to operate it.
Ku-ring-gai City Council recently awarded Sims the title of Local Citizen of the Year in recognition of his contribution to helping older people stay digitally connected. Mayor Christine Kaye called him "the go-to person for all tech issues" and praised Computer Pals as a "wonderful community organization" that gives seniors the opportunity to engage with digital technology and learn new skills.
Outside the club, Sims' life is equally orderly and purposeful: he plays bridge regularly, goes to the gym to maintain muscle strength, hangs out with his six children, and still insists on driving around Sydney by himself. These physical and mental routines align well with neuroscience findings about cognitive maintenance—a lifestyle that combines physical activity, social interaction, and mental challenge can help slow age-related decline, and Sims seems to be proving this with his own status.
He admitted that one day he would hand over the club to younger people, but it was not time yet. “That’s probably what keeps me from becoming a couch potato,” he said. There is always the next student who needs help, the next online form to fill out, or the next messaging app to explore together. For now at least, Australia's oldest "tech support" man is still busy troubleshooting not just computer problems but the digital anxieties of an entire generation of seniors.