3. I’m worried that a computer, and all that goes with it, costs much more than I can afford.
Ten years ago, you could pay a lot of money for a computer. Today, you can buy one that can easily perform basic functions for about $600, while there are others that cost much more—you decide.
Understand that computers nowadays are much easier to use, faster, and have more functions than the computer you would have bought back then.
4. I wouldn’t know what to do with one.
Start by doing easy things like e-mailing, writing, or getting answers to your questions online. Then you can get as deeply involved as you want as you learn more about what your computer can do.
5. What is so great about e-mail? When I want to correspond, I simply write a letter.
No one is trying to dissuade you from the quickly fading art of letter writing. But for quick communication that costs almost nothing to use, you can’t beat e-mail.
You’ll also find that chatting back and forth in cyberspace, either by e-mail or through online chat rooms, is a great way to stay in touch and keep your mind sharp. Social isolation continues to be a major factor in depression among older adults (see “Social Isolation: The Silent Robber” in this issue) and the Internet is helping combat that by keeping people connected.
“I use e-mail to stay in touch with my son in New Orleans, my grandkids, and relatives in New England,” says 82-year-old Mary Jane Cormier, who lives at Greenspring, an Erickson community in Springfield, Va.
6. Why do I need a computer to look up things? That’s what the library is for.
Say you’re interested in genealogy, and you want to research your family tree. It would take days to pour through books at the local library, presuming it even has the right ones.
But with a computer, type in your name and you’re off to the races.
7. It’s still no help for important issues.
Not true. One of the fast-growing reasons older adults are using computers is to access health information. A recent survey of American ages 63 to 80 for United Healthcare’s Secure Horizons found that, while 43 percent still rely on their doctors as their main source of medical information, the Internet keeps gaining ground: 25 percent in this age group use it as their resource for health information.
The Internet has become an integral part of our society, and people are spending more time e-mailing, researching, buying, or just “surfing.” Combine that with the fact that today’s computers are increasingly easy to use, and it’s expected more people of retirement age will take the big step and finally “go online.”