sheridan walkies: Seniors Using Technology

? 2012 Ashley Allen

by Ashley Allen SYRACUSE (NCC News) - Senator DeFrancisco held his annual senior fair on Thursday,?and hundreds of senior citizens arrived looking for advice about transportation, health, and recreation.

But they also saw a presentation about the way the internet can improve their daily lives. Time Warner Cable was?there to answer questions about broadband internet usage for seniors.

Stephanie Salanger, Communications Manager at Time Warner Cable, said only 35% of seniors use the internet. Their goal is to help?seniors navigate through this technology that is still new to many of them.

?The main reason are senior customers use the internet is to stay in touch with their families. They use Skype, they use email. So what we?re trying to do is expand that use, but also show them all the other benefits. There?s great links to government organizations, social security, healthcare organizations that help them get that information,? Salanger said.

Organizations like Project Goal are also working to make it easier for older adults to use internet services.

Seniors getting familiar with internet use

Although the number is small, some seniors are ahead of their friends and using the internet frequently.

One woman said most of?her friends?don?t even have a computer because they don?t understand how to use it.

?I took a course on how to use the computer, because it?s very complicated for senior citizens,? she said.

Ron Pytko said he uses?the internet?to check the news, weather, and even gather coupons. But frustration sets in when his computer gives him strange error messages.

?That?s the only problem if you really don?t know a?lot of it. It suits my needs, what I know. I could probably know a lot more but I?m just too lazy to learn it. I don?t wanna get too in depth with it,? Pytko said.

Problems getting access to a computer

For some seniors, the hardest part is simply finding a computer to use.

Fred Heath said he lives in a senior center where he doesn?t have access to a computer, and most seniors don?t have the money to buy one.

?If they had a computer available, there would be more using them. Organizations should give their older?ones to the senior centers, so they could set one or two of them up in each one,? Heath said.