There is a generational void on the Internet. Most Internet users are under 65 years of age. People over 65 barely register in our statistics about Web use since only about a third are online.
We could assume that older people simply aren't interested in computers or surfing the Internet. But we might be wrong.
Tobey Gordon Dichter, founder of Generations on Line, says that older people don't use computers because they don't have access to one, or they lack computer skills, or they are intimidated.
All three variables play a part in making older people invisible online. If a senior does say that he or she has no interest, that is likely to be a mask for feeling overwhelmed and intimidated.
Dichter, once a VP of communications and public affairs at a large health care company, learned through conversations with older people that they thought they were too old or too dumb to learn to use a computer. Startled, Dichter realized that our older citizens were being left out of the information revolution.
The Solution
Inspired to do something about the generational gap, Dichter retired from her job and set out to create a nonprofit called Generations on Line to address the special needs of older adults in the computer age.
The access question was already being tackled as libraries, senior centers, and retirement centers added computers or began including them in their designs from the beginning.
But that did not address the issue of usability for older people who might not have a clue about how a computer works. So, Dichter's organization created web-based software, a simplified interface, and large instructions in plain English on each computer screen.
The Generations on Line software uses familiar icons such as a clothes line that help seniors to progress from what they know, a clothes line, to a new concept, that of being "online." Other icons include an envelope hanging from the clothesline by a clothespin which symbolizes sending mail online; an open dictionary signifying searching online; a bag of clothespins representing other choices or sites the user might enjoy. There are also some black and white photos on that clothesline guiding the user to exchange memories, generation to generation.
The interface has been a hit with users because it is familiar, functional, and metaphorical.
Clicking on the Memories icon, users find a photo album with old photos with labels such as "Origins & History" and "When You Were My Age." Clicking on any of the photos reveals questions from real fourth grade children that the organization has teamed with through their schools. Thus the user can enter into a dialog and share his or her experiences and memories.
Clicking on the email icon takes the user to a simplified email program; the dictionary icon leads to an easy-to-use search page where the user can search in 36 languages; and the bag of clothespins icon leads to a page with links to popular topics or services.
The software is made free to seniors and is very affordable for the places where seniors gather. Although Generations on Line was just founded in 1999, it is now in more than 1300 facilities in 49 states and Canada. The number of users to date is more than 30,000.
The Continuing Need
When we talked to Dichter about what happens when a more computer-savvy generation reaches senior status, she said that there will continue to be a gap of some sort because of the rapid evolution of the Internet. Just as we all have to keep up with the new tools, so does everyone, even older users. After all, computer skills are incremental...each layer builds on the former one.
"If you are 70 today and can't use the internet, what will happen when you are 76 and the world is paperless?" asks Dichter. "There are more and more things you have to do online, such as banking and paying your bills. You know, right now, you cannot call the do-not call registry? You can only sign up online....so there will continue to be a gap and it will only get worse.
"A person born in 1929 is a linear thinker...one page comes after another...then you put that person on a computer and he is lost in the navigation. Then you add a smaller instrument such as a cell phone with Internet capability and it gets even harder. So it is important to train and keep training as the online world evolves."
Dichter says that her organization does not make the Generations on Line materials available for home use. She believes that people who are complete novices should learn in centers of some sort because, "...if you are at home alone with a computer, you don't even know how to turn it on....you don't know what an ISP is. At least at these centers they can experience success the first time they try to use the software because of the support that is there."
Dichter is very clear about her mission: helping seniors who may not be able to purchase a computer much less figure out how to use it. She says, "The software and accompanying materials are free to seniors in order to take away all the excuses...."
Getting the Word Out
Generations on Line markets widely but not always in traditional ways. Dichter says, "We have to build awareness that we exist.... We do that by attending conferences, and exhibiting at all the major meetings even though this is costly...it can cost $2000 to stand behind a table all day. Because there is an excitement about using the Internet we've had good media attention from big outlets such as the NY Times. Word-of-mouth works better for us than advertising."
Funding for Generations on Line comes from foundations and corporations, as well as individual donors. Senior facilities that use the software pay a fee but it is very low, only $350 for all of the existing computers at that site.
Thankfully, Generations on Line is growing. It, and other enterprises that help wire the older generation, are making a difference. That is important since being connected online can, according to the American Psychological Association, alleviate depression among the elderly. It also means happier grandchildren who can communicate with their grandparents, peace of mind for caregivers who are distant from their families, and more alert and lively seniors.
