Why "older people"?

i've been using computers since 1990 when i worked in a school. therefore i had to have a computer of my own at home.
as my guy is a computer technician i've gained a lot of knowledge about computers and progressed to being the proud owner of a desktop, a laptop, a tablet and a smartphone. and i discovered that i can access the internet on my wii and my 3ds too!
when my daughter and grandaughters moved in with me two years ago they brought their technology with them and now we have the grand total of 2 desktops, 4 laptops, 5 smart phones, 3 tablets, 3 kindle fires, 1 wii, 1 wii u, 1 3ds, 2 2ds. and most of them are in use regularly! are we the most tech savvy family?
the problem with having all this technology [apart from the desktops] is that everything needs charging - the number of charging cables that we have in the house and in the car is phenomenal as not everything will use the same charging cable!!

There's no excuse for anyone these days not to be computer savvy. My 90-year old friend was given her GD's cast off laptop and took to online everything like a duck to water.

However, she wasn't enamoured with the local Internet cafe she visited with her friend (93) as the 'stools are too high'

I agree with you LouP. I am 73 and would be lost without the internet and my smart phone. Use them both for absolutely everything. Google for finding out everything is an absolute boon. Also on Facebook so I can keep up to date with friends and particularly grandchildren.

I'm 80 and have been on the internet for 19 years. 1998 to be precise. Friends gave me an old Apple computer - which is now a museum piece and I learned on that and used it mostly to type my prepared lessons and for DH as well We were both teachers.
Sometimes if I get the feeling that the expert in the computer shop is gettig a bit uppity I tell him I was surfing the net in the last century. That shuts them up and I get good service from then on.
He also knows I'm belong to the older people who use the internet. I don't mind being old I can hardly be young or middle aged at my age,
Bye the way those of us who learned on simple computers had it easer than today.

I see what you mean, but many of the older people I know have never used a computer or even a mobile phone. My poor old MIL can barely use a TV remote control - and then she only uses buttons 1-4, none of the others as she's scared of 'mucking it up.'
As our generation will get older, hopefully we'll remain reasonably computer savvy - but we may not.

All I wanted to do was agree with LouP I couldn't sign in correctly, took three goes then I lost the thread, then I lost it altogether !!! Yes I am an older person but wwouldnt be without the internet for shopping and especially christmas. will keep going wish me luck !!!!!!!

My dad died 6 years ago, just short of his 95th birthday and had been using a pc then a laptop for a few years. He used to put his photos on it, and used email and also surfed the net.

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.

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!

Excuse typos, I really should preview!

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.

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!!

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

oops ! Kim19

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

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

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)

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.

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.

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!)

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 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.

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.

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!

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!