Q: Older Surfers: Online

Q: Do you think with more and more dating, history, e-mails, and other adult useful sites that the cybercultural will turn from the younger era of instant messaging, profile pages such as myspace and facebook will turn to the older generation? -- Katlin Kuntz, April 10.


Good question Katlin. We are continually introduced to new media technologies that improve communication and inspirer ideas. Integration of the new technologies helps bring the community together. Older adults adopt new technology slower than young people. However, worldwide the 65 and older group is quickly increasing the number of its online members (Lina, Hummert, & Harwood, 2004 ). Older Japanese adults enjoy participating in virtual communities because they can reconnect with communities, create new relationships, research important topics. Bleise (1982) listed ten motivations that the elderly use mass media (as cited in Kanayamma, 2003, p. 270):

1. as a substitute for interpersonal interactions;
2. to gather contents for interpersonal interactions;
3. to form self-perceptions and to gather information about
   societal perceptions of various groups of people;
4. to learn appropriate behaviors;
5. intellectual stimulation and challenge;
6. as a less costly substitute for other media;
7. networking and mutual support;
8. self-learning;
9. entertainment; and
10. companionship and safety.

When elderly people in Japan first began using the internet Kanayama (2006) found that problems they encountered where difficulty in learning computer skills and the lack of friends to send email. After learning computer skills and using email, this type of communication “provided a great opportunity for the elderly people to enjoy interaction with others and construct social connections helped elderly people to build social connectedness” (Kanayama, p. 272). Older adults are online and websites dedicated to web surfers over 65 are are created in many corners of cyberspace, including SeniorResourc.com, SeniorJournal.com, and SeniorCitizenBureau.

References:

Kanayamma, T. (2003). Ethnographic research on the experience of Japanese elderly people online. New Media and Society, 5, 267-288.

Lina, M. C., Hummert, M. L., & Harwood, J. (2004). Representation of age identities in on-line discourse. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 261-74.