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Older Adults, The Internet and Information

Many seniors use the Internet. Some older adults, having used computers at work back in the dark ages of mainframes made it through to the evolution of personal computers and can tell you how easy it is to use modern Windows PCs and Mac machines. They “surf the ‘Net” on a regular basis. The reasons they use the Internet are about as diverse as their (and your!) interests. For example:

• To keep in touch with friends and family, particularly those in distant places, as they travel.
• To pursue or start on a new hobby. To get information, exchange hints, and talk with others of shared interests.
• To keep up with the news, on things that interest them, in greater detail than available through other media
• For information about things that concern them - health, finances, events in places of particular interest – almost anything one can imagine
• For some, computing is a hobby in its own right.

For those of you who have never tried it, spend a few hours in an introductory course or go for a test drive at your local library. If you have a computer and have not been connected to the Internet, take a trial run at a library or on a friend’s machine. Perhaps find an older person to show you how.

I’ve listed some sites of general interest to older adults, and sites that provide information on aging, health, and elder abuse. There are, of course, a great many websites of interest to older adults and those who work in the fields of aging. Below, you will find just a sample of what is out there waiting for you. In addition, many of these sites link to other Internet addresses that may also be of interest.

-Jill Hightower