Internet Resources on Aging: Seniors on the Net
Abstract
Copyright 1996 by The Cerontological Society of America The Cerontologist Vol.36, No. 5,565-569 Joyce A. Post, MSLS1 Note: The specific sites described in this column are examples only. The information about them is correct at the time this is written; it may have changed by the time this is published. There are now over 700 sites in aging and it is not possible to mention all of them in this series of columns. Fora comprehensive list, use "Internet and E-Mail Resources on Aging" at http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/aoa/pages/jpostlst.html. How Many Seniors Have Computers and Use the Internet? There are many different published figures and interpretations of the figures on how many older adults own computers and access the Internet. There are, for example, 1995 figures from O'Reilly & Associates showing that 4% of online service subscribers are 65 and over (http://www.ora.com/research/users/ charts/online-age.html) and that 1% of Internet users are 65 and over (http://www.ora.com/research/users/ charts/net-age.html). You can find figures from the U.S. Census Bureau on how many people 65 and older used computers in 1993 at: http://www.census, gov/population/socdemo/computer/compuseb.txt. Although the numbers may vary, the conclusions remain the same: older people are a surprisingly large segment of the population using computers. One of