Old People and the Internet....

[California Girl]

I've been commissioned to write an article about the impact of the internet on the everyday lives of older people.

I'm particularly interested in the over 70s and social networking - facebook etc.

Are any of you in that age group or know anyone in that age group who use the internet that I could talk to. I have research on the subject but I'd like some real life input and maybe do a case study or two.

 

[slukasiewski]

AARP has already done alot on this.

Who commissioned you to do the work on this?

 

[Grace]

Too bad it's the over 70 group.

Hey. That's a great subject for the other article you want to write, CG. The internet for homebound people. Those who suffer fear of being out of their homes, hermits, disabled folks who rely on the net for social connections, etc.

 

[Toronado3800]

Not sure if it is of much help but my sixty something mother loves shopping on the big store sites and uses facebook of course.

So far the only real problem she has with her computers is she never met a toolbar she could resist installing lol. It slows down her lap top, every so often I have to junk them to make it run ok.

She has been a computer user at work for some time though so she isnt the total newb type.

 

[Grace]

My ex will soon be 64. If the cable is out, you have never seen a warrior on the warpath like he is. He wants his pogo, dammit, and he wants it NOW. Oh, and his craigslist.

 

[California Girl]

AARP has already done alot on this.

Who commissioned you to do the work on this?

My clients are my business.

 

[Zoom-boing]

My mom is 84 and my dad will be 89 next month. They won't even use the TVGuide feature on the On Demand box. My dad did recently discover that their cell phone - no, they don't really know how to work that either - has a calculator. His reaction was "hey, did you know the cell phone has a calculator? Neat nate!", then he turned the cell phone off and sat on the counter. That they have a cordless phone is a techno as they will ever get. Sorry, I'm of no help.

 

[Grace]

Cell phones have calculators??? lol. Learn something new every day!

(I hate gadgets). I turn mine on. It rings, I answer. I call, they answer. The end.
Took me almost a year to figure out my digital camera. Recently discovered it actually had ZOOM. I was stoked. Purely by accident, too.

 

[California Girl]

I'm seeing several other articles in this thread. Thanks guys!!

 

[iamwhatiseem]

My parent and even my grandmother (Mothers side lives long, and I just so happen to take my Mom's side)
I set up a Linux box for them several years back. I used Linux for ease of use, and I don't have to go over there every other day and clean up spyware/malware.
Anyhow - my Mother is 70, my dad is 73 and my grandmother is 86. (grandmother lives in an upstairs apt. abover their home)
My dad barely uses it, but my Mom and grandmother use it about everyday.
Mom primarily uses it to send/view family pictures people take, share stories, share recipes, poems etc. etc. She watched a video of her niece having a baby about 4 years ago 900 miles away. (the camera angle was...modest)
Same for my grandmother.
They also get online coupons, and shop a little online.

The best thing is my wife and her...75 I think he is...father...he lives in Mexico along with the rest of her family.
We use skype to talk/see each other.
She got to "visit" him in the hospital when he had heart surgery in San Antonio. I am really glad for both of them that they had this...brought his spirits up big time as he also used skype to talke to my wifes brother and sister.

 

[California Girl]

My parent and even my grandmother (Mothers side lives long, and I just so happen to take my Mom's side)
I set up a Linux box for them several years back. I used Linux for ease of use, and I don't have to go over there every other day and clean up spyware/malware.
Anyhow - my Mother is 70, my dad is 73 and my grandmother is 86. (grandmother lives in an upstairs apt. abover their home)
My dad barely uses it, but my Mom and grandmother use it about everyday.
Mom primarily uses it to send/view family pictures people take, share stories, share recipes, poems etc. etc. She watched a video of her niece having a baby about 4 years ago 900 miles away. (the camera angle was...modest)
Same for my grandmother.
They also get online coupons, and shop a little online.

The best thing is my wife and her...75 I think he is...father...he lives in Mexico along with the rest of her family.
We use skype to talk/see each other.
She got to "visit" him in the hospital when he had heart surgery in San Antonio. I am really glad for both of them that they had this...brought his spirits up big time as he also used skype to talke to my wifes brother and sister.

Think your Mom and Grandma might be up for having a chat with me on Skype about it?

 

[random3434]

Does JenyEliza still post here? You could ask her.

 

[Foxfyre]

I'm close enough to your target age group to comment I think.

People in my age group grew up without computers; without cell phones; without blackberries; without Ipods; without the internet. So we all started learning about these things at middle age. Some of us had more aptitude than others--I took to it fairly easily for instance but then I have mad clerical skills. Some of my closest friends, family, and associates didn't fare as well even as all our kids grew up with these things and the use of them were as natural and ordinary as breathing.

Now, there are very few of my close friends my age, classmates, relatives, and associates who don't have a Facebook page or Twitter Account. Almost all of us use e-mail and instant messaging more than telephones or any other means of communication. Most of us don't understand all the high tech stuff the kids use routinely, but we're very much a part of the high speed communication age.

What there is for us to regret that does not concern the younger group at all:

The absence of written letters that had a very different character than e-mail.

The demise of hand written cards, thank you notes, and little sentiments that were filed away in keepsake boxes for posterity.

The increase in infidelity and probably broken marriages as the sometimes intimate and erotic side of internet communication made such more easy and probable.

The luxury of being incommunicado for a period of time.

Would I go back to the way it used to be? No. But there are aspects of that I wish we could have retained.

 

[chanel]

My 70 year old mother uses facebook and sends out zillions of mass emails that are usually debunked by Snopes. Wish she would learn to use that site. Lol

My 75 year old dad does on line trading and has managed his money via the internet for years.

They both also use the computer to download pics and videos of their grandkids. I'd say they are both proficient users.

 

[California Girl]

Does JenyEliza still post here? You could ask her.

Ohhhhh man..... I'd forgotten about her. I wish you hadn't reminded me.

 

[Zoom-boing]

I'm close enough to your target age group to comment I think.

People in my age group grew up without computers; without cell phones; without blackberries; without Ipods; without the internet. So we all started learning about these things at middle age. Some of us had more aptitude than others--I took to it fairly easily for instance but then I have mad clerical skills. Some of my closest friends, family, and associates didn't fare as well even as all our kids grew up with these things and the use of them were as natural and ordinary as breathing.

Now, there are very few of my close friends my age, classmates, relatives, and associates who don't have a Facebook page or Twitter Account. Almost all of us use e-mail and instant messaging more than telephones or any other means of communication. Most of us don't understand all the high tech stuff the kids use routinely, but we're very much a part of the high speed communication age.

What there is for us to regret that does not concern the younger group at all:

The absence of written letters that had a very different character than e-mail.

The demise of hand written cards, thank you notes, and little sentiments that were filed away in keepsake boxes for posterity.

The increase in infidelity and probably broken marriages as the sometimes intimate and erotic side of internet communication made such more easy and probable.

The luxury of being incommunicado for a period of time.

Would I go back to the way it used to be? No. But there are aspects of that I wish we could have retained.

My kids send hand-written thank you notes to people. Yes, it often requires arm-twisting on my part but . . . . kids are often like that and in the end they write the note. They've all been taught to send thank you notes. Hopefully they will continue to do so down the road and hopefully they will be hand-written.

I'm still waiting for two thank you notes from two weddings I went to . . . . 25 years ago. Man, that pisses me off. I always go to great lengths to chose a gift I think the recipient(s) will like and then to not even get a note of thanks? Oooops, I"m rambling . . . .

 

[Grace]

I'm close enough to your target age group to comment I think.

People in my age group grew up without computers; without cell phones; without blackberries; without Ipods; without the internet. So we all started learning about these things at middle age. Some of us had more aptitude than others--I took to it fairly easily for instance but then I have mad clerical skills. Some of my closest friends, family, and associates didn't fare as well even as all our kids grew up with these things and the use of them were as natural and ordinary as breathing.

Now, there are very few of my close friends my age, classmates, relatives, and associates who don't have a Facebook page or Twitter Account. Almost all of us use e-mail and instant messaging more than telephones or any other means of communication. Most of us don't understand all the high tech stuff the kids use routinely, but we're very much a part of the high speed communication age.

What there is for us to regret that does not concern the younger group at all:

The absence of written letters that had a very different character than e-mail.

The demise of hand written cards, thank you notes, and little sentiments that were filed away in keepsake boxes for posterity.

The increase in infidelity and probably broken marriages as the sometimes intimate and erotic side of internet communication made such more easy and probable.

The luxury of being incommunicado for a period of time.

Would I go back to the way it used to be? No. But there are aspects of that I wish we could have retained.

My kids send hand-written thank you notes to people. Yes, it often requires arm-twisting on my part but . . . . kids are often like that and in the end they write the note. They've all been taught to send thank you notes. Hopefully they will continue to do so down the road and hopefully they will be hand-written.

I'm still waiting for two thank you notes from two weddings I went to . . . . 25 years ago. Man, that pisses me off. I always go to great lengths to chose a gift I think the recipient(s) will like and then to not even get a note of thanks? Oooops, I"m rambling . . . .

Couple of years ago, an online acquaintance was compiling a box of goodies to send to her sons platoon. She asked if anyone was interested to contact her. The guys were requesting certain things...gum, LOTS of sandwich bags (to keep sand out of their stuff), snacks, writing material, books, music, cards for card games, etc.
I spent 200 bucks on stuff. Filled the shopping cart, then boxed it up and shipped it. Never even got a thank you. Not one word. Why? Because she didn't like me. But she liked me well enough to take what I sent to her son and the guys in the platoon.

 

[slukasiewski]

I've been commissioned to write an article about the impact of the internet on the everyday lives of older people.

I'm particularly interested in the over 70s and social networking - facebook etc.

Are any of you in that age group or know anyone in that age group who use the internet that I could talk to. I have research on the subject but I'd like some real life input and maybe do a case study or two.

I ask you in post #2 of this thread who commissioned you to do this, and mention AARP as a source to possibly help you with your work - as I know they've done a lot in this area - as I have worked with them on older driver issues - and you neg rep me and tell me it's none of my ******* business?

Is this how to treat everyone who reaches out and trys to help you?

No wonder you're such a lonely, miserable low-life *****.

Go **** yourself asshole.

 

[mudwhistle]

Too bad it's the over 70 group.

Hey. That's a great subject for the other article you want to write, CG. The internet for homebound people. Those who suffer fear of being out of their homes, hermits, disabled folks who rely on the net for social connections, etc.

Sounds like Mr. Shaman.

 

[Sarah G]

Does JenyEliza still post here? You could ask her.

I doubt JenyEliza ever left here. She's a professional messageboard troll..