Why "older people"?

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'.

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!

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 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.

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 .

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 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

I am 75 and could not live without the internet and google!! I also shop on the internet and Christmas is a boon when I don't have to face the crowds.

My brother (65 this year) and his wife (just 60) will not use the internet and only have the most basic mobile phones and my Sil only uses hers for phoning for a lift. She doesn't drive either.

I suppose the newsreader should have said it was unfair on anyone who didn't have internet access. I'm always amused now by the number of fashion shoots for the older woman where everyone is in their 50's.

Maybe the word 'elderly' would have been more appropriate...

phoenix I've just been making this point this morning. Computers have been with us for decades. Social media in a very basic way started in 1969. It began in the way we know it now in the mid 1980 and really took off in the mid 1990s.
Young people used to believe that they had invented sex. Now they believe that they invented the internet.
I don't know anyone in their 50s or 60s who doesn't use social media. If you go to the library the people using the computers are pretty well 50/50 between students and older people.

Pensioners may not be able, or willing, to afford internet. mY dad who was very capable man prefered to spend his pension on golf, travel and his car.

He did use the internet by proxy as he gave me his requests and I did his bidding, Easy Jet flights, cheap car insurance and so on he just did not consider it worth the money to him.

Have you noticed how they're starting to put Audrey in this category in Coronation Street? They had her refer to trolls as gremlins, regarding Sally's trolls. Audrey is a business woman. She is modern, stylish, and young at heart. Of course she would know how to use a computer. It annoys me greatly that our newspaper advertises beginner classes for over 50's!

DH is a Bowls Coach and 'on the committee' and they have a hell of a job persuading the members (age profile 80% over 60) to use e-mail to receive communications from the club even though a significant number of them have mobile and I pads.

It's well known that it's harder to learn new stuff as you age. That's not a criticism either, just a fact of life.

Most of the people who come to our Library for computer tuition are'older people' and do find it difficult to learn.

If it was the interview I heard they also mentioned the vulnerable - which in a way is more worrying.

A few weeks ago I was reading about the costs of Met Police using Directory Enquiries - well over £10,000 a year. I acknowledge that's a tiny percentage of the police budget but I do hate avoidable waste. Just mentioning this to point out it's not just older people who pay for the service!

Didn't the chap quote the statistics for the number of over 75 year olds who don't have access to the internet? Can't remember what the figure was but it sounded reasonable to me. My 87 year old mother who doesn't use the internet but does use WhatsApp and text may not be aware that Directory Enquiries isn't what it used to be.

I think you will find phoenix that many older people, who might have sight problems and difficulty learning new things, do not have access to computers.

As we know, people are living much longer now. My Mum is nearly 97 and can just about manage doing what she has alwayhs done but could not possibly operate a computer - partly because her sight is so bad and partly because she would find it too confusing.

I'm not particularly savvy about computers myself but can do the basics. My lack of knowledge, though, would be laughable to young people.

She doesn't have a smart phone, Tizliz, as she only keeps a PAYG mobile for emergencies. Thank you for the suggestion, though.

SueDonim perhaps she might prefer 'whatsapp' if she has a smart phone. This is how my son sends all his photos of my grand-daughter

My mum is 90 this year and has the internet but she really only uses it for the news or watching tv programmes she's missed.

I do wish she'd use her email, though, as then I could keep her more up to date with photos of greatgrandchildren and other family things.

It's not a criticism of someone to say that they are old and it's not ageist to notice and to comment on the fact that there are generational or age differences in behaviour. There are. It'd be odd if there weren't. Internet use is one of the most obvious.

My mum doesn't have internet access at home. I wonder how many other parents of gransnetters that applies to.