How Do the Elderly Handle Being Online?
There is an ingrained stereotype in our society that being an older adult means that you are not capable of using tech or using the web. It’s made for some funny memes, and characterizations in movies, but how true is this stereotype really? Why don’t we start by asking Bill Gates? This wunderkind of the computing world is now on the wrong side of sixty, and so can be considered a senior citizen.
And, considering that he’s probably forgotten more than most of us will ever know in this area, it just goes to show that we should be more careful about the kinds of stereotypes that we throw around.
Now, sure, not all seniors are at the same level as Bill Gates, but many of them are a lot more tech-savvy than we give them credit for. But you don’t have to take our word for it. The popular medical review website, medalerthelp.org decided to do their own investigation into the matter.
The infographic that you’ll see at the bottom of this page was the result of months of research by Dr. Djordjevic, the editor-in-chief of the site.
It pulls together a lot of interesting facts that fly in the face of commonly held wisdom in this regard. Should we go through the salient points quickly?
Contents
Seniors Are Very Active Online
As you’ll see, seven out of ten seniors use the net daily. They might use it to look up the weather, find information about a topic they’re interested in, perform banking, or follow the news. The point is that seniors find the internet as useful as the rest of us do.
Seniors Adopt New Tech More Slowly
There is a definite lag when it comes to the full-scale adoption of tech. Seniors are more likely to use tech that is familiar to them, rather than jumping on the bandwagon and upgrading to the latest smartphone. Having said that, don’t count them out just yet. There are seniors who are happy to use more up to date tech if someone is willing to show them how.
The Older the Senior, the Less They Use New Tech and the Net
This is something that becomes most apparent in the over-eighty category. It may be as a result of this age group not being able to adapt to the new tech, or could be due to a more pragmatic reason. Perhaps health issues might get in the way too.
Why Seniors Don’t Like Going Online
For those seniors that prefer to stay offline, a few different reasons are cited. The primary reason is the lack of skills. They might not know exactly how to get around online, or use search engines, etc. There is a small percentage of seniors who see no viable benefit to being online at all. A similar number of seniors stay offline because they fear harassment.
Want to learn more? Read the infographic below and get the real picture today.
My Mom loved the internet and was an enthusiastic user of tech. She even knew some basic coding. I think it’s silly to stereotype seniors. Many of them love to learn and try new things, including tech.