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Silver Surfers - Your Grampa Online?
Author : Chris Holgate
The young lady from Switch over the Refresh offices informed me about the interesting experience she had over Christmas, her 95 year old grandparents in Scotland send their festive well wishes by webcam. Having heard Tami speak about the rather nice moment got me thinking about the differences the net could make to those just over a single generation ahead of me. As you can expect I view the net as a man pushing thirty; I have to take a step back to see the internet from the point of view of an elderly person but the benefits are many.
Without a doubt, the main obstacle in the way of the majority of older people gaining access to the Internet is a working computer knowledge. Unfortunately getting on to the Internet requires the use of a PC, but in a generation that wasn't bought up around computers this can pose a problem. Fortunately there are a number of courses designed specifically for this user demographic - these are usually very cheap to attend and the advice is friendly and unintimidating.
Assuming that this one obstacle can be overcome, the primary use of the Internet for most elderly people will almost certainly be communications. I'm not speaking from personal experience but I imagine that it would be very easy for an elderly person to become fairly isolated; I've known of people in their seventies, eighties and nineties who don't see anybody for days, or even weeks, on end.
The Internet allows the elderly to set themselves up with free Skype accounts so that they can hold an audio or video conversation with friends and family who might live a long distance away. In the case of James' gran, for example, she was able to see and talk to her entire family in Devon from her armchair in Canada completely free of charge and for as long as she liked; before the Internet this simply wouldn't have been possible. The majority of people who purchase a webcam in our store would be considered elderly and I think it's fantastic that a £10 piece of technology can make such a difference.
Sites such as Friends Reunited allow the elderly to get back in touch with friends that they may have lost contact with decades ago and provides another line of communication to the wider world. In a recent study 35% of older Net users said that the Internet had provided them with a wider circle of friends after retirement. Of course, e-mail in general is a fantastic communications tool and maintaining contact in this fashion is infinitely quicker and usually easier than writing a letter.
The net is an amazing source of entertainment to help keep the brain active in retirement. Websites like Wikipedia give a never ending stream of information; together with several billion other sites this wealth of information truly is priceless. Additionally, the survey I mentioned earlier stated 42% of older users became more tolerant of changes in society as a direct result of exposure to the internet.
If you suffer from mobility issues then online shopping can relieve the burden of having to go in to town or out to a large supermarket to get the weekly shop. Those that rely on someone getting their shopping for them may also like the independence and freedom to choose exactly what they want and get it delivered the same day.
Computers and the elderly are two words that are not often mentioned in the same sentence however the potential enrichment that the Internet can bring in to the life of an older person is often worth the effort of overcoming the technical challenges.
It's a pretty long way off but I anticipate that upon retirement I shall proudly call myself a 'silver surfer'.
Author's Resource Box
Chris Holgate writes a weekly article of all things tech related. He is a director and copyrighter of the online computer consumables business Refresh Cartridges who sell cheap ink cartridges, toner cartridges, computer hardware and other computer consumables online. An archive of his work can be found at www.computerarticles.co.uk.www.computerarticles.co.uk
Article Source:
Articlebliss
Tags: Armchair, Canada, Christmas, Computer Knowledge, Devon, Different Perspective, Doubt, Eighties, Elderly Person, Friends And Family
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Submitted : 2010-07-24 Word Count : 1 Popularity: 209 Times Viewed: 23
