Are the elderly welcome in our new technologies? – Enerexxo - 26 Nov 2010

Posted on November 26, 2010 by jeroenthimpont

In this post I would like to discuss wether or not the younger generation is keen on letting the old one in on “their” new technologies.  Even if the senior citizens want to use the technologies are they in some way “allowed”?

Of course this is not a question that I can give a absolute answer on. But I will tell you a story that can give a glims on how the youth reacts to an elder in their midst.

The story is this:

On August the fifth 2006, Peter Oakley a 83 year old pensioner from Leichester, England, posted his first blog on youtube.

He had just become a widower and wanted , as he said in an interview commited by unruly Media (see link below), to “meet new people and find penfriends – but without disrupting his ‘reclusive life’ behind the screen.” What followed whas a youtube ‘boom’.

The uploaded video got over 400.000 views in less than a week (and is currently at almost 3 million views). On top of that he got a staggering amount of comments and mails which he one by one read and replied to, thuss resulting in new aqcuaintances and even friends.

This story shows us that the elderly are not only allowed on new technologies, but might also be embraced in doing this by the younger generations.

Of course this one testimony doesn’t mean that seniors are always admitted on every technology.

Taking for instance an example that Peter Oakley himself cited: ‘Elderly behind the wheel of a car’

As can be seen on this facebook group , or this site there is a lot of criticism on wether or not elder people are allowed to drive on the roads. This discussion, in my opinion, goes further than issues about safety because the solution often mentioned is that there should be a new driving test of some sort at the age of 70 (currently being used in the UK). What strikes me in this solution is that in every age section, there are people who drive more dangerous then the average elder, and that the lost of sight and reflexes is not something that invariatly just ‘pops up’ at the age of 70. Therefore, if your only goal was more safety,

it would be a vastly better measure to ask for a license renewal every, say, twenty years or so. The fact that this is not the case gives me the feeling that there is more going on here, that in our subconsious we just don’t like elderly to mingle with ‘our’ techology at there pace.

As you can see a conclusion is not simple to make. In some instances our senior citizens are allowed and embraced in our new technologies, but on the other hand, we can sometimes have the urge to exclude them from some technologies, especially when their interference comes at a cost to our speed and freedom. So, when we think about elderly not being capable of doing a certain job, we should always ask to ourselves if we are really just focussing on objective reasons, or if we are just scared to be held up by our elder citizens.

Source: http://enerexxo.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/are-the-elderly-welcome-in-our-new-technologies/

Blogging and Demographic Groups - onecoolsitebloggingtips - 2 Sept 2010

Posted on September 2, 2010 by timethief

Every generation make its mark by adopting different preferences and standards in language, clothes, music, etc. from the generations that have gone before. Generational determined lifestyles and values have as much influence on buying and purchasing as more common demographic factors such as income, education and gender do. Most of today’s consumers belong to one of three primary generations that typically fall into the following categories: Baby Boomers -born between 1943 and 1964, Generation X- born between 1965 and 1980, Generation Y- born between 1981 and 2000.

Bloggers: Demographic breakdown

June 2010 - With blogs becoming an increasingly popular way for Internet users to get information, it is interesting to see where this content is coming from and who’s writing it. We analyzed more than 100 million blog posts that provided information about their age, gender and location information. — Inside Blog Demographics

* Bloggers in the 21-to-35 year-old demographic group account for 53.3% of the total blogging population.
* People 20-years-old or under are 20.2%
* 36-to-50 year-olds are 19.4%
* 51-years-old and older account for 7.1%.

Online advertising: Generation gap

August 23, 2010 – Only 17 percent of Internet users find online advertising to be appealing and most people considered it to be “intrusive, repetitive, unappealing and cheap,” a study conducted by Connect Insight revealed, NewMediaAge reported. The agency explained that the differences in opinion among age groups are related to the early Internet experiences that older users had. Then advertising was used in an intrusive way, now the younger generation directly interacts with brands and companies through social media.

* 24 percent of the 16-to 34-year-olds do think this type of advertising is appealing
* 50 percent of those over 55 years old said they avoid websites where ads would pop up and “interrupt their online activities.” — Study: Internet users dislike online ads


Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers are the the result of an “explosion” of births occured after soldiers returned home from World War II. The sociologists define those born between (and including) 1946 and 1964 as “baby boomers.” When we think of the baby boomer generation, we often think of the 60s; the decade that seems to have defined the boomers. Since baby boomers make up such a sizable portion of the consuming public, their spending habits and lifestyles have a powerful influence on the economy.

Silver Surfers

Silver Surfers are older adults, generally 50 years of age or older, who frequently surfs the Web and spends time online (“silver” refers to the color of their hair). Unlike neophytes, silver surfers are considered netizens, experienced users of the Net. The phrase silver surfer is commonly heard in the U.K., but applies to midlife adults (generally those in their 40s, 50s and 60s), and seniors (age 70 and over) everywhere.

* Account for 70 percent of the U.S. net worth, controlling $9 trillion;
* Inherit over $12 trillion from their parents — the largest wealth transfer in histor;
* Control 80 percent of the personal financial assets
* Represent 50 percent of U.S. discretionary spending
* Own about 50 percent of all credit cards.

Emerging trends in social networking

August 27, 2010 – According to the studies and surveys conducted by The Pew Research Center and American Life Project social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older has nearly doubled — from 22% to 42% over the past year;

(47%) of internet users ages 50-64 and one-in-four (26%) users ages 65 and older now use social networking sites;

Between April 2009 and May 2010, internet users ages 50-64 who said they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn grew 88% and those ages 65 and older grew 100% in their adoption of the sites, compared with a growth rate of 13% for those ages 18-29.

The news that older adults from the baby boomer generation and seniors are entering the online environment in significant numbers is important factor to bloggers, who wish to expand their readership by attracting members of those demographic groups.

Attracting Baby Boomers and Silver Surfers

My blog is focused those who are learning to blog and who want to improve their blogging skills and you can see the current demographic data for it in Silver Surfers: The New Social Networking Wave. As there is a dramatic increase in baby boomers becoming silver surfers and taking up blogging, I’m hoping to increase my readership among older internet users. Do you?

* My blog is not in the Legal Adult Content Blogs niche.
* I do not rely on controversy to attract traffic and comments.
* I do maintain a safe environment for commenters, and the language I use is not a barrier to older people online, including baby boomers and silver surfers.
* I choose to use a clean and minimalist theme and the sidear is free of distracting clutter that increases page loading time.
* The only advertising seen on this blog is initated by WordPress.com and I receive no income from it.

Britons spend half their waking hours 'plugged in' - Telegraph UK - 19 Aug 2010

People in the UK spend 45 per cent of their time watching television and using communication devices, according to the latest research from Ofcom.

They are also growing more adept at consuming different types of media at the same time, with an increasing number using their mobile phones while watching television or surfing the internet.

The figures, from Ofcom’s annual Communications Market Report, shows that the average Briton spends almost four hours a day watching television, and spends a quarter of the time that they are online visiting social networking sites.

The report also shows the enduring popularity of television, with Britons settling down to watch three hours and 45 minutes of programming every day. And almost a third of households with internet access use their connection to watch catch-up television online – eight per cent more than the 23 per cent of households that did so last year.

There are an estimated 24 million HD-ready televisions in the UK, with five million households subscribing to high-definition services through satellite or cable deals, or via Freesat and Freeview services.

“For the first time, we can see just how central media and communications are to our lives,” said Peter Philips, a spokesman for Ofcom. “Increasingly, mobile devices, especially smartphones, are used for multimedia consumption, but live evening television still remains the main entertainment event of the day.”

There has been a significant increase in smartphone ownership in the last 12 months, with more than a quarter of people in the UK saying they own a smartphone. Last year, around nine million people used their mobile phone to surf the web, but that figure has increased to more than 13.5 million.

Those aged between 16 and 24 have become adept at using their phone to multitask, say, by browsing online while making a call, with 20 per cent of all media consumed by them throughout the day accessed in this manner.

“Younger people have shown the biggest changes in how we use media, particularly using different media at the same time,” said Philips. “But the divide between younger and older people’s use of technology is starting to narrow as more older people are getting online and finding that things like email are very important to them.”

Indeed, the report showed half of over-55s in the UK had broadband internet access at home, with more than a third of people in this age group using email every day, and almost half sending an email at least once a week. And 20 per cent of those aged between 55 and 64 said they used social networking sites, such as Facebook.

There is also evidence of a gender divide, with men spending nearly an hour more per day using media than women, at an average of seven hours and 33 minutes compared to six hours and 38 minutes.

The Ofcom report will get a mixed reception from mobile phone network operators – the figures show that the average number of voice calls made per person has increased each year by an average of 1.6 per cent since 2004, but the amount of data sent over its networks has also grown exponential, up 240 per cent in the last year alone. Operators are spending millions of pounds each day to ensure their networks can cope with the data demands placed on them by smartphones and mobile broadband services.

Ofcom surveyed 1,138 people, aged 16 and older, in compiling its annual report.

Facebook to promote net safety - ST Online - 10 June 2010

By AP

NEW YORK - FACEBOOK is joining forces with a national parent-teachers' association to promote Internet safety through a set of tools and resources for kids, schools and parents.


The world's largest online social network and the National PTA will work together to build a program to provide information and support about such issues as cyberbullying, good online citizenship and Internet security.

Because the partnership is just starting, officials do not have much detail on what kinds of resources they plan to offer through their respective websites and through other means. But Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the plan is not just to educate kids about being on Facebook, but about being online.

He said 'the sooner we can get instilling responsible behaviour, the better.' The PTA will reach out to local parent-teacher groups to promote the program, while Facebook plans to do the same on its site.

Anne Collier, co-director of Connectsafely.org, a forum about online safety issues, said the deal combining Facebook's broad reach and the PTA's relationship with schools and parents 'makes a lot of sense.' 'Citizenship online and offline needs to be a part of the child's life,' she said. 'It needs to be taught at school and at home - it's not just a digital thing.'

Child safety advocate Parry Aftab also welcomed the program, and said it's important for parents not to be scared of technology but to use it to their advantage to communicate with their kids. 'It's not about turning it off any more, it's not about scare tactics,' Aftab said. 'It's all about teaching our kids the skills they need to survive in this digital world.'

Social Networking Popular - ST Online - 11 June 2010

By REUTERS

NEW YORK - SOCIAL networking isn't only for the under 40s. More than 25 per cent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research.

And nearly half of older adults, aged 50 to 64, say they are savvy about the Internet.

'The latest data tells us that more and more, social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus, and boomers in particular,' said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report.

The powerful lobbying group for older Americans said Facebook is by far the most popular networking site, followed by MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 per cent said they use it to stay in touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren.

'They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them,' said Jean Koppen, the author of the report.