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What Every Senior Needs To Know About Computers …But Were
Afraid To Ask

If you’re a senior and have been hesitant about getting a home computer and
joining the Internet age, you are certainly not alone. Lots of seniors think they
can’t learn the computer or how to use the Internet but that’s simply not true.
Millions of seniors have learned the computer already. In fact no other group of
people would benefit more from the Internet than the senior crowd and it’s never
been easier for seniors to join the Internet age.

There are several reason why seniors have avoided getting a home computer
and most of it is simply because of not understanding what importance the
computer and the Internet  would offer a typical senior. For many,  the Internet
opens up whole new world of communications with friends and families and
allow you to have access to the entire worlds’ wealth of knowledge.  Printed text,
video, music, maps are just a few of the many media examples all available on
the Internet and all free with a connection to the Internet.

It’s not easy for someone that has never really experienced the vast amount of
information available on the Internet to appreciate how valuable it can be. Think
of the Internet as an all inclusive reference library that includes every piece of
information ever printed. History, medical, maps, manuals, phone books,
movies, music, games, auto, sports, travel, dating, you name it it’s on the
Internet. The information is available in many multi-media formats like videos,
music, maps, movies and the largest shopping mall in the world.

The Internet is an astonishing place to visit and has something for everyone. So
what’s stopping so many seniors from joining in on this amazing world of
knowledge?  Here are a few of the concerns that senior typically have.

Learning The Computer

Obviously one of the biggest factor with senior have with the computer is the
fear that they can’t learn it, perhaps it’s too complicated or that they will break
the computer. While it’s no walk in the park, it’s not exactly mastering the violin
or golf either. Keep in mind that while just 5 years ago computers were clumsy ,
the Internet was disorganized, and it was common for computers to be
uncooperative. Rebooting (turning a computer off and on) was a national
pastime.  Unfortunately all those horror stories still resonates with seniors and
understandable would scare most people.

Today’s computers are completely different and have become solid, reliable,
dependable machines that require little to no maintenance. The Internet itself
has become a well organized and easy to navigate endless amount of useful
information.

You could compare it with the development of the  TV. When the TV first came
about you had to know about horizontal and vertical hold buttons, antenna’s, and
let’s not forget the many uses of aluminum foil when TV’s first started to
populate households. Of course TV’s have come a long way and so have
computers.

Changing From Paper To A Computer Screen

One  issue for seniors when first learning the computer is getting comfortable
reading something on a screen instead of paper. While this might seem silly to
some, seniors have used paper products all of their life, they are comfortable
with indexes, turning a page, and marking important information when they find
it in a book or reference. This can be an adjustments for senior at first but the
benefits quickly out weight the drawback.  Computer screens are brighter, the
text is bigger and can be adjusted to almost any size. It also offers you the ability
to have all of your reference books like a dictionary, travel directory,
encyclopedia, phone book, TV guide, movie Guide, stock market all readily
available neatly organized in one location.

Having the Internet also allows the information to be kept up to date on an
almost instantaneous status. Think about it, if you are looking at a stock quote in
the paper it’s a day old. By Internet standards that’s light years old. The same is
true for news in general. The Internet also allows you to easily compare prices
on items you purchase, and it will completely transform how you book and plan
your next vacation.

Anything on the Internet can always be printed out for you to save so for a lot of
seniors it’s more comfortable that way. Either way you will have a lot more
information available to you that is literally just a few key strokes away.

Typing On A Keyboard

A common issue that concerns seniors (especially men) is they can’t type. That’s
fine because with the mouse, most of what you will be doing on the Internet is
done with a simply point and click. There is very little typing on a computer
today. Even when searching for information, you can usually just type a few
letters and the computer will suggest what you might be looking for. Intuitive
typing as it’s called along with spell checking really takes most of the work out of
typing on the computer.  

Eye-Hand Coordination Using The Mouse

Unlike kids today, seniors didn’t start off life with a Gameboy. Most seniors
adjust pretty quickly to using a mouse and it only takes a few games of Solitaire
for them to be comfortable with it. Seniors new to the computer  should first
become comfortable using a mouse as this will help make everything else they
do on the computer much easier. Most senior pick it up in less than an hour.

If You Can Drive A Car You Can Drive The Internet

One of the biggest misconceptions about having a computer is that you need to
know what’s “under the hood”. This simple is not the case. Most people drive a
car but have little knowledge about what’s under the hood or how to fix it. The
same is true for computers. You only need to know how to use (drive) the
computer, you certainly don’t have to know what makes it run and in the rare
case that there is an issue, just like a car it’s time to find a trusted technician.
Fortunately today computers rarely have issues that can’t be resolved by simply
turning it off and back on.

The Great Mall In The Clouds

The Internet offers an unlimited amount of information and it also has many
other functions that have change the world around us. Popular websites like
EBay, Craigslist, chat rooms, Twitter, Facebook, dating sites, sports galore,
even on-line gambling. A lot of these sites are heard about on the news and
unfortunately not always in the best light. The Internet is like a gigantic mall with
many different stores, each catering to its own cliental. For seniors remember
that just like a mall there will be stores that will appeal to you and places that
you will have no interest in. Just because you go into a mall doesn’t mean you
have to visit every store, and just because you’re on the Internet you certainly
won’t be visiting every website.