Over the past few years, Tribecan Shaan Chawhan was finding that every time he visited his grandparents, he would spend the first hour or so helping them update their phones, answering questions, bringing them up to speed on all the tech stuff that teenagers seem to do in their sleep.

It occurred to him then that some older people might not have access to free teenage tech support.

“It’s mostly simple things that the younger generation finds really easy but senior citizens have trouble with,” Shaan said. “Help with setting up contacts, downloading apps, finding email addresses — the basics.”

So the Brooklyn Tech junior started a school club last year called Tech Tips, and now twice a month, he and a posse of classmates descend on the senior living facility Watermark in Brooklyn Heights (they are an advertiser, but I promise you it’s a total coincidence! Ask Shaan!) to help residents with all their tech issues.

When he first started the club last year, he was able to get a few friends to join him, and one of them made contact with Watermark. Now the club has 100 members. About 15 of them go to Brooklyn Heights each visit, setting up shop in the library. So they are seeking other senior facilities to keep more of their members busy and to extend their reach.

He also has passed the idea on to one other school, and hopes to get more chapters started around the city and beyond.

“We were all so disconnected during covid that using your phone became a lot more important,” Shaan said. “And now, keeping people company in person is important — especially people who don’t get a lot of visitors.

“Plus there’s a large need and a lot of people who want help,” he said. “A lot of people might not have a grandchild who could help them.”