Seniors flock to the web
More over-65s log on to look up medical information, connect with family and friends
Mary Gail Hare, Baltimore Sun
Friday, July 6, 2007
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Jim Redding refused to own a cell phone. And the notion of having a BlackBerry or iPod was out of the question.
Yet, within the past year, the 69-year-old Maryland resident has become not only computer savvy but also an avid Internet surfer. After taking a free course for senior citizens at the local library, Redding sends e-mails, organizes boat inspections for his yacht club and even drops in on YouTube to keep current on videos.
"I was dragged kicking and screaming" into the computer age, he said. "I used to gripe about it, but I got the basics and just kept seeing what more I could learn."
Redding is hardly alone. In recent years, seniors have been hooking up to the Internet at a rate that far outpaces the rest of the population.
Since 2000, the number of Americans older than 65 using the Internet rose more than 160 percent, said Susannah Fox, an associate director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which tracks the social impact of Internet use.
Over the same period, no other age segment grew by more than 70 percent.
For many, it's a question of economics, as seniors seek access to the lower-priced goods -- including drugs -- that are the hallmark of Internet commerce. They also want to keep up with the growing amount of information that has shifted to the Web and stay connected to friends and family who are communicating via cyberspace.
"They hear, 'For a lower price or more information, check our Web site,' " said Tobey Dichter, founder of Generations on Line, a nonprofit group dedicated to Internet literacy for older adults. "They want access to resources, everything from government help to getting discounts."
And when Medicare made sweeping changes to its benefit plans a year ago, the most accurate and up-to-date information was available on the Internet, Fox said. "Brochures on the many different plans were often out of date soon after they were printed."
Yet the obstacles to becoming regular computer users -- learning a new vocabulary and skills, as well as paying for the technology -- often deter people, Dichter said.
"Many seniors can't see enough reason to enter cyberspace, when the doors are too hard to open," he said. "But then seniors are shut out without electronic access to resources."
The Philadelphia-based group works to simplify Internet use for those age 65 and older, Dichter said, offering software to libraries and senior centers -- anything to get older people over unfamiliar barriers.
AARP offers many courses -- including a driver safety program -- on its Web site, in addition to listings of help centers, medical assistance and prescription information.
On a recent weekday morning at a Maryland library, a group of seniors was online, practicing finding legal, medical and prescription information, contacting officials and government agencies, and even checking on the weather.
"We had one man who quickly learned to research tax records and found out he was owed money," said Cathy Walther, 71, a library volunteer who helps teach classes.
"Computers really are the greatest assistance device since false teeth," the library's branch manager, Gregory Wollon, told the class.
For Walther, embracing the Internet has affected many aspects of her life. She is diabetic and finds foods -- and recipes -- that meet her nutritional requirements but often are not available at the local grocery store.
"I Google search and buy it online in bulk," she said. "That's how I found Irish oatmeal."
She also keeps up with medical information and stays in contact with her doctor via e-mail. Lately, she has been helping to organize her 50th college reunion through e-mail.
"I hear from people I haven't seen in years," she said.
For many seniors, the class opens the door to a world already familiar to their children and grandchildren.
"When I finish this course, I am going to buy a computer," said Jewell Hall, 69. "I came here to learn all I can first. I am a grandmother dummy with a 7-year-old grandson who knows more than I do about computers."
This article appeared on page A - 2 of the SanFranciscoChronicle
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