Adult children who want to help their aging parents learn to use more technology may want to read the April 2014 Pew Internet organization report, Older Adults and Technology Use.
This fascinating document, freely available online, describes various groups of technology-using seniors and explains how they use or do not use computers and devices. It also offers some reasons why older seniors, especially, slow down in their use of computers and digital devices as they age.
What’s interesting to me is that less of a digital divide exists between seniors and the rest of the younger adult population, and more of a digital divide exists between higher and lower-income seniors. Also the researchers found that after age 75 technology use tends to drop off significantly for many elders.
Most Interesting Findings
- Younger and higher income seniors who also have more education often use the Internet at rates that exceed the general adult population.
- Initially, older adults feel that they need significant to get started and to keep learning more.
- Tablet and e-book readers are popular among older adults.
As Our Parents Age So Do We 