Written By: Dr.Cristy Gamez-Galka
For those of you who enjoy surveys and numbers, this one’s for you. For me, this piece satisfied my curiosity and expanded my knowledge. It helped me understand fundamental issues regarding seniors and technology. Let’s get to it.
The Pew Research Center released findings about “Older Adults and Technology Use” on 3 April 2014. They looked at the use of technology by those 65 and older as well as the rest of the population. Below are some of their findings.
Those who had technological devices and saw a benefit tended to be younger seniors, have more education, and be more affluent. Older seniors, those seniors who were less affluent, and those who had significant health or disabilities tended to be disconnected from technology. In fact, Internet and broadband use decrease significantly around the age of 75.
Use By Seniors
77% use a cell phone
18% use a smart phone
59% are on the Internet
94% believe the internet makes it easier to find information than in the past
71% use Internet daily or almost daily
46% of online seniors use social networking sites
47% use broadband
27% use Tablet/E book reader/both
Challenges to using technology includes:
Physical issues – vision difficulties or issues that keep the person from fully participating in daily activities.
Skeptical attitude – 35% of non-Internet users do not think they are missing out on important information that could be on the Internet; 79% of Internet users think those not using the Internet are at a real disadvantage because of the information they are missing.
Learning issues – 77% want help learning how to use a new device
If you would like to learn more about the results or to read the article go to:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-adults-and-technology-use/
These findings describe how seniors are likely to have a cell phone and be on the Internet very often. They also want someone to help them get comfortable with technology. Â Here is a link to resources for Seniors provided by BridgingApps:Â http://bridgingapps.org/seniors/