Tech & Social Media for Elders - Boomers to Seniors
An really interesting take from the Los Angeles Times about how some older seniors are tackling digital/social divide with help from New York's Pace University. The quote I stuck in my headline is what grabbed my attention. The people this reporter quotes, who are in their 80s and 90s, all share a fear and frustration with technology.
Source: 50-Plus Marketing
Source: Tech Journal South
Thanks to SeniorsAloud for the post.
--Jamie Carracher. Connect with me on Twitter!
But this story is a little different because Bill Sleeper, a former engineer, is the real deal. He knows his technology, and at 96 years old, he's putting it to work for him.
I really enjoyed his description of how many seniors are "tech wounded" -- meaning they have had poor expeirences with technologies that are hard to use. The reporter calls Bill Sleeper an "inspiration." I think we should call him an "early adopter."
--Jamie Carracher. Connect with me on Twitter!
-Jamie Carracher. Connect with me on Twitter!
Nearly a quarter to a third of people age 50+ did call someone else like a friend for advice when shopping in a store during the holiday season.
via Pew Internet.
A post from the well-respected analyst Laurie Orlov caught my eye last week. In it, Orlov cites a Pew Internet study that found continued low adoption of tablet computers by people age 65 and older.
It’s hard to question the stats which indicate older people aren't yet taking to this new form factor. I wasn't too surprised by this finding because every study that comes out about new technology says the same thing: the oldest among us almost always lag in technology adoption.
Unfortunately, when people see these stats over and over, they assume there's no point exploring the topic at all. Stats don't tell the whole story. When we focus on just what's happening today, we're not opening our minds to what could happen in the future. Let's not forget, the iPad was released to a marketplace where there was no clear demand from anyone.
Television was once the fastest-growing consumer technology the world had ever seen. But in 1946, at its humble start, there were only 20,000 TVs in the United States. By 1955, that number had grown to 30.5 million – reaching 64 percent of households. Adoption was strongest among the wealthy in urban areas. People who were poor or lived in rural areas were much slower to tune in, partly due to cost and accessibility. And while I can't prove it, I'm willing to bet my lunch there were seniors who had no idea what the point of a TV was when they already had a radio.
Truly remarkable, game-changing technologies touch everyone, as we've seen throughout history -- from telephones to the Internet. While it's interesting to note that only seven percent of seniors own a tablet or e-reader in 2012, the real story to watch will be how mobile computing, including tablets, evolves and touches everyone over the next five to 10 years. There's no way to outrun that wave, no matter how old you are.
-Jamie Carracher. Connect with me on Twitter!
It's hard to believe I've been editing this blog for a year -- the longest I've ever been able to keep a blog going. In recognition of this achievement, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite posts from the last year. Happy New Year!
-Jamie Carracher. Connect with me on Twitter!
Of course, the report also found that six percent of people age 65 and older say they have used Google+ for health purposes, even more than Facebook. This makes me wonder if people thought Google+ was the same thing as regular Google searching.
Diving deeper, another finding caught my eye:
-Jamie Carracher. Connect with me on Twitter!
