Why "older people"?

I use the internet for emails , banking , shopping etc . My Sister is 10 years younger and refused to do any of it till recently , she is going to classes in the Library but finds it hard ! She would really be so cross if referred to as old or elderly

Quite agree Phoenix. Many of us were around and using computers when they were first invented which gives us a huge head start on the young.

I also keep in touch with all my family by email, even my 11 year old granddaughter and keep up to date with their lives. I just couldn't live without it . I am not housebound, by the way and am often out .

I started working on computers in 1986. Norsk Data was the first system I used which is completely different to others as you had to learn codes for functions. Although I am not 'Tech Savvy' I can find my way round most programmes these days. I think the youngsters pick it up quicker than we do though, and I think that has got something to do with age. Even my little 3yr old has a painting programme he uses, and another one for reading! They are just normal to these little ones.

Dare I say it.... my dil's Father will not touch a computer. He used to be a Snr Manager and thinks it is beneath him I think. The real reason of course is that he does not know how to use them and will not admit it.

No shame in that. I have offered to teach him but he is having none of it. 'I have managed until now without one and I think I can manage without one until I am six feet under'! With an attitude like that there is no use trying to help is there?

I think it is quite funny that until computers came in it was woman's work to do all the typing. After they came in men decided they wanted to join in and gradually took over. Typical isn't it!

I agree, I hate the terms pensioner,elderly,older and in truth I want my grandchildren to call me by my name and not Gran. But that is just me. I feel we are morphed into something else as the years go by. I am a person aged 69 and run a business and use my computer all the time.
I also hate the media blaming older people for lack of this or that. We are people,we deserve respect whatever our age.
The other day my eldest daughter suggested I start clearing out things, mementos, photos etc all tidied in a box. What a cheek!! I know what I will be leaving her when I 'pop my clogs'.

Yes, Yorkshiregel... I got fed up with the attitude that if typing needed doing it was up to me. As though females come out of the womb ready to type! We had to learn, too.

I will say men today are so much better and self-reliant. I used to type term papers, etc for students for extra money before computers, and even after in the 1980s.

Husband will point and click but he can't type except to fill in a form or something.

My dad could hunt and peck at 82 when he taught himself when he got a computer in 1997! He loved the internet.

Older people are also referenced when the disappearance of high street bank and post office branches comes up. Some pensioners found the debit card system difficult.

I have to say, if you are losing your sight and hearing, taking on new technology might be intimidating. But it will likely lessen as the years go by and the non-tekkie generation passes Nursing homes will probably all have high-speed internet as my dad's did back in 2003!

Hi, I'm new, be gentle with me!

My Dad had a laptop for the last few years of his life, did his banking on it - he died two years ago this month, aged 90, bless him - I did have to nag him about running scans and stuff tho!

I'll be 70 later this year and love my computer - tho I didn't really get into it until AFTER packing up work, but now I'd be lost without it - I know more than my 37 year old daughter!

I am now 83 and I've been on the internet for plus/minus ten years. I resent the fact, that when you reach a certain age, you suddenly, become an idiot. I consider myself, a lot smarter, than some people, a quarter of my age. My greatest failing on the computer, is remembering my passwords. Fortunately, that isn't an insurmountable problem. My granddaughter,is quite proud of the fact, her old grandfather, is better on it, than quite a few of her friends. My limbs maybe slowing, but my brain is still fairly sharp.

I have a friend, in her late seventies, who steadfastly refused to use the internet. She said she couldn't get the hang of it, didn't want to get the hang if it, didn't like 'new things', and, it seemed to me, wore all those facts as a kind of badge of honour. I have noticed recently though that she occasionally lets slip things that indicate that she has, in fact, dipped a toe in the water, though why she won't admit to it I have no idea.

Slightly on/off the thread...... will someone please tell me the cheapest way to access a directory enquiry for an unknown telephone number, please? I used to do a freebie 192 from a phone box so you'll know how ancient I am!!

I don't think it is age- it's attitude.
I know a 96 year old woman who uses her computer all the time & emails, looks things up & reads news online etc. I also know a lady of 68 who has never touched the one in her house. Her husband uses it but not much.
It depends on how you feel about technology. I'm not a whiz but I use it all the time but my husband works in IT so anything complicated I have help at hand (although he spends so long explaining it that I have usually gone off the idea by the time he has finished!)

My mum didn't have a computer and couldn't manage her sky tv. She racked up a hefty bill using 118 and then agreeing for them to connect her. My mother-in-law, however, who was older, was on her PC most of the day and was one of the founders of an online anxiety forums.

My mother lived to 96, completely on the ball, though with sight problems, and I often think how much she would have got from having a computer, if they had come in a little earlier or she had been born a little later!
She'd have loved getting indignant at the news, following everyone on Facebook, and the togetherness of Skype. She'd probably have started a blog about her obsessions!
It's all a question of timing.

I'm entirely with the OP on here.

I firmly believe that 'younger people' are the generation that is not 'tech savvy', and after having spent more than 30 years in what is now called ICT I often feel insulted by this condescending sort of remark.

Most of the 'tech savvy' generation of young people would likely not know the difference between a modem, hub, router or switch, and assume that 'super fast fibre' actually exists - it doesn't of course. The Internet is not in and of itself a 'thing', but a mechanism for accessing systems, processes and services on different computers.

Of course, Radio 4 commentators are clearly ignorant of many facts on this topic, and simply assume that the ability to play with applications like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat on a 'smart' phone at speed constitutes being 'tech savvy'. Why not ask the next person that suggests your age makes you less 'savvy' on the matter, if they can describe a 'blade server', or the difference between SAN and NAS platforms, and the benefits and security risks of NFC communications in everyday life.

Having spent many years designing, installing and supporting systems that benefitted UK defence companies - the sort of bland assumption that anyone with grey hair doesn't know how computers work really does infuriate me!!!

Apologies all for my rant - myst be getting old(er)

Use 'BT phone numbers' on your computer!! Or, if it's a company Google it and look at 'contact us'

Kim90 I google to find phone numbers , I also use the web to check out unknown numbers when I get them on my phone

oops ! Kim19

My late DH would never use my laptop although he was fascinated by the information on the Internet. He also only had a basic mobile, he could read a text but never got the hang of sending one (he was only just 72 when he died)

My DM is 88 & has never wanted on-line access (she rings me if she needs anything & I have a couple of Utility bills set up for her) I do keep reminding her to ring me if she wants a phone number, she has had one call to Directory Enquiries that cost £11. She would never have a mobile phone despite the fact that she would travel on country roads on her own (she can no longer drive due to her eye-sight) often at night.

I think it sad that so many things are now only available on the Internet or are cheaper when ordered on-line. There is the cost of broadband & a means of access which many on low incomes cannot afford

I think that there is an element of if you come to computer technology late, you are inclined to be less than brave about some things, thinking that, at the press of a button, all sorts of things are going to go wrong and everything will disappear! I was talking to my son in law last week about setting up a new iPad, hoping that he would offer to come and do it for me. Nothing of the sort. He merely said "I'm sure you can do it yourself. Have a play around with it and remember, you can't break it and you're not likely to lose anything!" I know that if I had got into real trouble he would have come round, but I didn't - in fact, the machine did most of the work for me. The only problem I had was with the email and that was because I couldn't find the right password which I had written down in the wrong place!!

I'm 64 and I couldn't live without internet now either LouP, I use it to do so much (but it is a time waster too, for me at any rate!) But our elderly parents , DHs are 89 and 90, and my mum is 89, can't used it at all, so we manage my mum's energy accounts and her car insurance for her, ensuring she gets the best rates. We also find out things she needs to know and give her the information. However, DHs parents are different, they don't want to disclose any information to DH about financial affairs and reject any offer of help from him, so obviously we respect that, but is still difficult when they tell us that they prefer to keep with the same energy provider because they've been with them for years and `always been very good` as we know they're not getting the best rates available to them. Still DH has offered, that's all he can do.
I too feel a little offended when people say older people can't/don't use the internet, I think the age should be qualified, so many 85+ people don't use the internet, but even them it's a generalisation because there are 90+ people who use the internet.

Excuse typos, I really should preview!

My Mum is 87 and has NEVER felt the need for a computer as she says they waste a lot of time - she could be right!! She loves to see family photos on my iPad but wouldn't have a clue what to do if she had one herself. We tried several times to show her how to use a mobile phone we bought for her - but failed totally. The majority of the over 80s are in a similar position and never use the internet. I'm now in my mid-60s (!!) and am considered "old" by my 13 year old GD. I can do loads on my PC/iPad but sometimes need her help to do some more technical ICT things. I certainly know how to find a free phone number without paying £9 ??? to some rip-off company. Must tell mum to ask me if she needs a number! I agree with Thatbags that the older older generation need warning about such scams that the rest of us would not be caught out by!

Should have said, mother has a basic mobile phone and texts regularly, but DHs have a mobile but can't use it to text, only phone. My lovely dad, who died last year, was the same, could use mobile to phone but not text.