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... that have tremendous value for seniors. Some of these are: The AARP site, Seniors-Site, Senior. Com, Maturity USA and The Retirement. Net. These are only a few of the hundreds of sites geared toward seniors.
They offer information on how to use their computers and the Internet more effectively along with general information, links to sites about health, money and retirement, and chat rooms or message boards. Chat rooms are one of the most used facilities by seniors on the net. Widow. net is especially geared to widows and widowers to grieve with others in similar situations.
Other chat rooms just allow seniors to get together and make new friends their own age and with some across generational lines. Senior Net has a message board called How are You? . This board is there to allow seniors to truly put how they are feeling. In real life the expected answer would be fine, but here seniors are free to put how they actually are feeling.
These messages range from health and mental complaints to just keeping the many friends they have met on the net up-to-date without having to email each individual. Chat rooms The most interesting of all senior activity on the Internet, to me, are the chat rooms. I have had the privilege of meeting some very interesting and friendly people in the Yahoo chat room called Seniors. The age mix in this room averages from 50 to 75. However, I have seen younger and older and all are accepted the same... very cautiously.
Until the regulars spend quite a bit of time noticing your name in the room, will they truly chat with you. The seniors that finally chatted with me explained that they have heard so many negatives about chat rooms that they are alert and careful to newcomers. However, once they do accept you, they will greet you with warmth and enthusiasm. Most of the seniors I chatted with consider themselves to be either low or middle class. When I delved into the matter of income, the typical answer was enough. Once again I had put them on alert.
However, after another couple of weeks some of them did email me and tell me their incomes. The range for annual income was $ 30, 000 -$ 60, 000. Out of the 10 that would answer all of my questions, 6 were retired, 6 were female, and the range of how long they had been using the Internet ranged from 1 week to 3 years. The ones that were not retired yet had been accessing the Internet the longest. The reasons they gave for using the Internet varied. However, there were some similarities.
Each one of them said they use it to keep track of news and finance, health news, chat rooms and email. All of them mentioned that it was so much easier and cheaper to email family and friends than it was to call them. All the ones that I chatted with, even those who had refused to answer any of my formal questions, did say that they thought the Internet affected their quality of life. This was a subject they felt so strongly about that they overcame their fear of me and answered. Each one felt that the Internet kept them alert, kept them from being lonely and allowed them to meet new friends to expand their social life. Many of the older seniors told me that a lot of their friends had died and that this was a chance to socialize and meet new friends.
When I asked them if these new friends were approximately the same age as they are, the cautious ones who had refused to answer other questions, answered yes, while the other 10 who had answered all my questions said that most were but they were open to other age groups as well. Each told me that they had made good friends that they are anxious to speak with each day. They related to me that there were people that they could chat with, about their health and family and issues such as Social Security, that understood why there was a need to speak of these The seniors also told me that they had found information about health issues that were explained to them in a way that they could understand. They knew that if they could not get an answer from their doctor, or if they had questions once they got home, they could get on-line and look it up. They feel that the Internet has given them a chance to educate themselves. Conclusion Seniors are proving everyday that they are not scared of new technology.
They are learning the benefits of the Internet. However there are very few studies done on seniors and Internet usage. The effect of computer use on the health of seniors has been mentioned in certain studies. Using the Internet to get out, may help reduce loneliness and the rate of suicide among seniors (Rigdon, 1994). Even in treatment of ailments such as arthritis, hours online creating an active mind may reduce the amount of pain medication needed (Noer, 1995).
It has been said that seniors who regularly access the Internet will score higher on measures of health and well being than those who do not use the Internet. Seniors and Internet usage will have many more studies in the near future, I believe. The more seniors that come online, the more money computer companies will spend to target this market. This will lead to more sites for seniors and even better technology to allow even the most disabled seniors to access the Internet communities. The more benefits for seniors health and well being that are identified to be attributed by Internet usage, the more the senior online population will grow.
The changes that could possibly take place when the senior population outnumbers or closely equals other age populations could be numerous. Many seniors use their email to contact their representatives and other government officials, and believe me, they are not scared to voice their opinions. So perhaps this countrys well being will also be affected due to seniors lack of technophobia. Bibliography: REFERENCES Adler, R.
P. (1996). Older adults and computers: Report of a national survey Senior Net [online], Available web [ 1996, July 21 ] Noer, M. (1995, September). Senior cybernaut's. Forbes magazine. 156 (7), 240. Online. (1997). Too old for Computers [online], Available web Rigdon, J. (1994, December 8).
Homebound and lonely, older people use computers to get out. The Wall Street Journal, B 1. Sorensoj, Jean. (1997) Seniors in Cyberspace. [online], Available http: // 192. 211. 16. 13 /individuals / sorenson . default. htm Wrixon, Ann. (1997).
Senior Net. com. [online], Available web
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Research essay sample on Access The Internet Chat Rooms
