2008 COMPUTERS AND THE SENIOR CITIZEN

Apparently, there are numerous computer classes being held in Ewing, Hamilton and presumably Trenton and other retirement communities. My experience and my impression that few senior citizens are into computing is based on my personal experiences in dealing quite heavily in senior affairs around Mercer County. My two brothers, both of whom are over 80, want nothing to do with them, observing that they are "too complicated," they are "too busy," or they are just plain not interested in taking the time to even investigate. When personal computing really began to take hold, back in the old "MS-DOS"era and with Apple competing with IBM and "CPM" trying to keep up with "MS-DOS," computing was considered a strictly "geek" thing, left to those with scientific aptitudes; those who knew "COBAL" and other terribly technical concepts. When the computer became truly PERSONAL back in the early 80's, and Microsoft mimicked the Macintosh operating system and created WINDOWS 3.0, a new world of computing was born. Of course, the above is only a very sketchy, off the cuff mini chronology of the evolution of the personal computer. Through those years, the younger generation made haste to learn computing. I was one of the middle agers who didn't have time for that new gimmick that was supposedly going to change the world. I saw the light in 1985 when I encountered my first word processor; a huge IBM computer utilizing those large really floppy floppy disks.

Most of my contemporaries say that computing is too complicated. Especially those over 80 years of age. One site on the web states that less than 4% of the entire senior community are active in computing. Believe me: I have made it a part of my presentations to encourage them to get active. I taught beginning computer classes at the Hamilton Library a few years ago, and found the there were only a handful of seniors who wanted to learn. Most thought it was too complicated, too expensive, or an unnecessary appliance. Don't misunderstand me. There are a few seniors who are regulars on my site and who are constantly writing to tell me how they appreciate the memories I bring back to them. It is really my target audience with www.glover320.blogspot.com, but the number of visitors to this site I'm sure falls within the 4 to 5% area cited above.On the other hand, those who read my column are largely seniors and I constantly receive snail mail from them, responding to a specific column. Had those seniors been on the internet visiting my site, they would have contacted me. Here's an extract from just one website dealing with the lack of senior participation. The writer states what I have been telling my senior citizens for at least 15 years:
"Technology and the Senior Citizen"
"Most people in the 65 and younger age group deal with new technology on a daily basis - from computers at work to cell phones in the car. However, for those that did not grow up with an iPod in their back pocket, technology can be scary and intimidating. Younger generations take it for granted that they are being raised with a lot of these items. Even those in the middle-age bracket find themselves at the minimum exposed to it from their families and jobs. But for those people that no longer go to work and may have limited access outside of their homes, technology can be viewed as unncessary and frightening. What they don't realize is how much technology can make their day-to-day tasks easier and even improve their quality of life."