#PROAGING: Olympics & Social Media Suggest Shrinking Digital Divide
NBC might have gotten some bad press for giving away results before showing them tape-delayed in the lucrative hours of prime time. These Olympics have both been the ‘first Social Olympics’ and the first to struggle to understand what such instantaneous communication can mean to corporate and sporting interests. And, as it turns out, most of the griping is coming from the world of social networks. According to the Pew Research Center, 76% of Americans find the NBC communications conglomerate’s coverage excellent or good.
What are the numbers when age is taken into consideration?
| Category Advocacy, Aging, Boomers, Civics, Communications, Grants and Funding, Independent Living, Internet, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Politics, Report, Seniors Life, Site Administration, Social Media, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology, Technology for Aging | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#PROAGING: Majority Of Senior Citizens Online & Many More Using E-Readers
The fine folks at the Pew Internet and American Life Project marked a notable milestone in the history of electronic communications this past spring: “53% of American adults ages 65 and older use the internet or email. Though these adults are still less likely than all other age groups to use the internet, the latest data represent the first time that half of seniors are going online.” The crossing of the 50% mark means marketers and fundraisers really need to develop strategies to reach our retirees and senior citizens online. The percentages will only increase, of course, as ever more people who used the internet for work and/or play, and then those who grew up knowing few other means of communication, move toward 65. What else does the latest Pew report show us about Boomers and the internet?
| Category Aging, Boomers, Communications, GI Generation, Grandparents, Independent Living, Internet, iPad/Tablet, Marketing, Report, Resource, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Social Media, Social Media, Technology, Technology for Aging | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#PROAGING: AARP Explores Benefits & Challenges of ‘Technology For All’
With much fanfare, the first babyboomers moved into the official era of retirement last year as they celebrated 65 years of life. They were the first ripples of a ‘Silver Tsunami’ of Boomer retirees who will bring changes to entertainment, to Social Security, medical services, to retirement life. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) released a report calling on entrepreneurs, developers, and service providers to take on the challenges of bringing the myriad technologies (some of which were built by the Boomers) to everyone – including those over 50 who want to use those technologies but might need them modified. Is your organization developing its strategy for the near future?
| Category Aging, Boomers, Community, GI Generation, Health, Independent Living, Internet, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Report, Resource, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Social Media, Social Media, Technology, Technology for Aging | | 2 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: Spending Time With Grandparents This Holiday
Looking for a way to spend time with your (grand)parents this holiday season, whether you are seated in the same room or across the continent? The folks at DoSomething.org are launching a new program for this holiday season: ‘Grandparents Gone Wired‘. The program is designed to encourage (grand)children to spend time with their elder family members by helping their (grand)parents get settled into a Facebook account or by setting up video chat via Skype.
The program has the added benefit of encouraging a little face-to-face-in-the-same-space time during the holiday season as you negotiate the accounts and tinker with the hardware together. Registration via email or mobile phone is all it takes, and DoSomething promises to start sharing ideas and stories beginning today (the program runs through the 30th). Participants with the best advice enjoy the opportunity to win a new iPad, iTunes Gift Cards, and even a $500 academic scholarship.
Though the pitch is clearly thrown toward teens and their grandparents, the program could be just as helpful for adults wanting to connect technologically with their parents. I have registered and will report on the first few notices. True, the use of social-networking platforms by older Americans has exploded in the last couple of years, but everyone can use some help honing skills or learning new tricks.
We’ll share some of our ideas and experiences at DoSomething, and we hope you do too. And we hope you will share them here as well. We’ll certainly share them over the next couple of weeks.
| Category Aging, Boomers, Communications, Grandparents, Independent Living, Internet, Nonprofit, Resource, Seniors Life, Site Administration, Technology, Technology for Aging | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: SM Savvy Encourages Cross-Generational Connection
Click to enlarge
With Thanksgiving a mere 36+ hours away (30 of which might be spent in a ticket line or sitting on a runway or hoping the traffic finally gets moving), we are all thinking about re-connecting to family and old friends. That we do so via social networking platforms has become the assumption among the Millennials and the Gen-Xers, whether in the holiday season or not. The social networking demands of these generations encourage them to keep up with the latest technologies as well – not a bad thing for the economy.
What happens to the previous-generation phones and laptops as younger Americans buy the latest-and-greatest? One thing that happens to them is they become ‘hand-me-ups’.
| Category Boomers, GI Generation, Independent Living, Internet, Interview, Media Review, Nonprofit, Report, Resource, Retirement Living, Reviews, Site Administration, Social Media, Technology, Technology for Aging, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: Bringing Ballots To Nursing Homes Via The iPad
iPad as Ballot in Oregon (Not Voting Machine)
When the people of Oregon needed to replace Congressional Representative David Wu this week, the state Board of Elections used the opportunity to develop means to get ballots to older citizens in nursing homes. The traditional means to do so were to send absentee ballots out, but such ballots waste a great deal of payer, any way – and many do not get returned anyway. As we have noted on this blog, the iPad is a convenient and stimulative way for retired Americans to access information. And now it is being used as a way for retired Boomers and those of the GI Generation to cast their votes.
The iPad was used to present the ballot to the seniors, who could use the touch screen to enlarge sections if necessary and to mark their votes with a touch. When done, the iPad printed the ballot for the senior citizen to mail in or to stuff into a ballot box.
The idea came from local activists, and we see a rare moment of Apple contributing to a nonprofit’s efforts: Apple donated five iPads to the Congressional district, and $75,000 to help develop the software that presented and recorded the ballots.
As of now, the feedback on this small-scale election is largely positive. According to a report on CBS News, election officials stressed the fact that the iPad is not recording the vote, simply offering access to the ballot and assisting the elder Americans’ abilities to mark it appropriately. The question remains, nevertheless, as to how scalable the pilot program is. Oregon officials seem convinced it will work statewide, and they are investing in more iPads and printers: “At $500 each, the state could buy the iPads for about $36,000. Portable printers cost about $50 each, Trout said, or counties can use existing printers from their offices. The cost of software is still unknown. In the last two-year budget cycle, Oregon spent more than $325,000 to maintain accessible voting tools.”
The portability and touch-screen simplicity of the iPad makes it an idea technology to assist citizens cast votes. Perhaps as the technology rolls out to other districts and states, it will inspire greater electoral turnout among the rest of us.
| Category Aging, Civics, Events, GI Generation, Hardware Review, iDevice, Independent Living, Internet, iPad Apps, iPad/Tablet, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Nursing Home, Politics, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Silent Generation, Site Administration, Software Review, Technology, Technology for Aging | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: Guidance For Older Americans Looking For Work
The unemployment rate of 9.1% seems pretty bad psychologically, especially for Americans that can remember the myth of unemployment rates of 2-3% a decade or so ago. But the unemployment rate flattens out some really horrific numbers: For African-American men between 20-30, the rate is about 18%, for example. And all these numbers get somewhat massaged by redefining who is not ‘really’ looking for a job.
The unemployment rate for Americans over 50 has more than tripled during the Great Recession, leading some analysts to define the ‘grey wall’ or ‘grey ceiling’ stopping opportunities for advancement, much less re-employment. Via the AARP website, Chris Gardner offers some sage advice for older workers needing to get back to work. Older workers, he argues, have most everything employers need, but those older workers might not have the networks to get them back in the game.
| Category Advice, Aging, Blogs, Communications, Independent Living, Internet, Marketing, Report, Resource, Social Media | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: Touchscreen Ease Available For Those Who Don’t Want An iPad
Click to enlarge
The iPad has inspired many older Americans to expand not only their computing skills, but also their short-term memories and their social(-media) circles. Nevertheless, the iPad was not created with our oldest citizens in mind. The screen is not especially large, for example.
The computer company Telikin in Chalfont, PA is developing a desktop machine for the GI and Silent Generations. Humans interact via the large touchscreen, and the software interface includes large clear buttons that give users easy access to email, Facebook, calendars, and other applications, like local weather, that seniors might find handy. But apparently the computer is even finding adherents from among younger generations who simply want an easy way to interact with some of the staples of the online universe.
| Category Aging, Apple, Boomers, Campaigns, Civics, Communications, Community, E-Mail, GI Generation, Grandparents, Hardware Review, iDevice, Internet, iPad/Tablet, Marketing, Reviews, Seniors Life, Social Media, Software Review, Technology, Technology for Aging | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: Study Shows Americans Optimistic and Unprepared For Heath In Retirement (Part 2 of 2)
Last Thursday we shared a report conducted by National Public Radio (NPR), who has been presenting the findings of their in-depth survey concerning how recent retirees and soon-to-be retirees (those over 50) view retirement. The report was conducted by NPR, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. The takeaway of the survey shows that those close to retirement are strikingly optimistic about what their retirements will entail in terms of economic and social stability (which we discussed last week), as well as about their good health and longevity (to which we turn today). Retirement for those already well into it has lost much of its romantic sheen – a distinction between the two demographics stressed in the report.
| Category Aging, Audio Interview, Boomers, Community, Diet, Fitness, Health, Healthcare, Independent Living, Internet, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Politics, Report, Seniors Life, Wellness | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Tech: Pew Internet Project Breaks Down Use Of Communications Tech Across Generations
Click to enlarge (from the Pew Internet Project)
The contours of the findings of the Pew Internet and American Life Project report on ‘Generations and their Gadgets’ you probably already know: Younger Americans use more mobile devices than older Americans. Older Americans generally access the internet from a desktop computer, whereas those under 35 tend to do so with a laptop/netbook. Etc.
But within those contours the project’s latest study, this one by Kathryn Zickuhr, we see growth in mobile use across all generations, and we even see some reticence to own any device across all generations as well.
| Category Aging, Campaigns, Communications, Fundraising, GI Generation, iDevice, Internet, iPad/Tablet, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Media Review, Nonprofit, Public Media, Public Relations, Report, Research, Resource, Seniors Life, Silent Generation, Social Media, Technology, Technology for Aging, Web and Print, Web Design | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD