My first introduction to computer technology as we know it
was around 1987 when the company I worked for installed word processing. As the
only clerical person on staff, it was up to me to figure it out. There was no “online”
because we weren’t. It was only for creating and storing documents. My scrooge-like
boss was skeptical of it all, but when he realized how easy it was for me to
edit, print, store, and then retrieve documents, he resigned himself to being
OK with the technology.
Flash forward a few years to a new company, and we’re
creating a networked database to enhance our record keeping and documents. As
one of three staffers designated to get this up and running, I participated in
classes to learn data entry. My first class of data entry was daunting. It took
me close to 20 minutes to enter my first detailed data file. However, within
two weeks, I could enter one complete data file approximately every 12
second. I guess I’m a quick learner.
Flash forward again, and here we are in 2015. PowerPoint,
spreadsheets, Facebooking, emailing, texting, Skype, and blogging; I consider
myself proficient, but it was baby steps of accumulated knowledge. I have
friends who are dazzled by my computer prowess, but it’s all a learning
process. Employment forced me into computer skills, but social networking is a
whole other ballgame.
E-mail became particularly important when both of my
daughters lived in other states, one in the Midwest, one on the west coast. It
was a necessary source for inexpensive communication. Remember, those were the
days when we paid dearly for long distance calls. In a blog article I browsed at
Age In Place Pros titled 50 Percent of Seniors Are Online and Why You Should Care it is reported from a Pew Research Internet Project that 82%
of seniors use the internet on a daily basis, and that 48% of seniors use email
every day. The report claims that email is the bedrock of online communications
for seniors, with 86% of internet users ages 65 and older using email.
Facebook came next. I skipped right over MySpace, glad that
I didn’t waste my time there. My kids quickly abandoned their MySpace accounts when
Facebook swept onto the scene. I got on the Facebook bandwagon because it was
an easy way to not only keep in touch with my cousins in California, but to
creep on what my kids and grandchildren were doing. All was going well until I
chastised my granddaughter on her wall for use of inappropriate language, at
which time she slammed the door shut on our Facebook friendship. The good news
is she still talks to me in person.
A University of Arizona study finds seniors who use Facebook
showed a 25% improvement in mental “updating” skills – essentially improving
their memory, and that seniors who surf the internet can reduce depression by
20%. I taught my husband how to use the computer with a book titled Your Never
Too Old to learn the Computer, and a series of screen shots with circles and
arrows.
I do have a Twitter account, but have never used it. Perhaps
I will soon. I set up an Instagram account, but my oldest daughter promptly criticized
me for it. She said I’m too old for an Instagram account. Funny, it didn’t ask
my age when I set up the account. I pointed out that Oprah and Madonna both had
Instagram accounts and she immediately countered that I am not Oprah or
Madonna. I feel like I should insert a frowny-face emoticon here.
Then there was the cellphone. Seventy percent of seniors own
cellphones. I owned the traditional “senior citizen” flip phone for years,
coercing my husband to carry one too in case of emergency. With the cellphone
in hand, it made it easier to annoy my children and grandchildren by calling
them too much. I then switched to texting when I realized that no one would
answer the phone when I called, but they would promptly respond to a text sent
seconds later. Too busy to talk to mom, but always have time to text. I feel
like I should insert a frowny-face emoticon here too. I’ve now accepted texting
as part of my daily communication, but found that using the old style flip
phone was less than convenient for texting. Next step up for me was the smart phone.
I asked for a smart phone two years ago for Christmas, and
received a Kitchenaid mixer instead. I asked for a smart phone the next year
for Christmas and got a Ninja blender instead. Not that I don’t appreciate
either of those gifts (because I wanted both of them), but I was hot on the
trail of a smart phone. Thanks to a convenient family-plan offer from one of
the major providers, in a phone-upgrading coup, my son got a new iPhone, my
husband got a phone with a pop-out QWERTY keyboard to make texting easier, and I got a mid-range Android-powered smartphone.
By the way, my husband claims he hates his new phone, and swears his old flip
phone was easier to use. “It’s a learning curve,” I keep telling him. When his
contract expires in two years, I’m getting him a Jitterbug from AARP.
I love my phone. I’m a Weight Watcher, so I can track my
food Points with it, scan food barcodes to automatically calculate, my app enables me to track fluid intake, Map My Run tracks my outings and
time on the treadmill, and the Waze app lets me know where the State Police are
lurking when I’m traveling. It also keeps my calendar, my contacts, and allows
me to voice record my to-do list so I don’t forget anything when running
errands. Did I say I love my phone?
Kindle, Kindle Fire, Nook? Many of my friends own these
gadgets. According to the Pew study, 11% of seniors own e-readers, and 8% own
tablets. My sister loves her Kindle and this Christmas Santa brought her a
Kindle Fire. I don’t see an e-reader in my future. I’m a bibliophile by nature,
and prefer my reading to come on paper with a nice binding. The smell and feel
of a book, the weight in my hand is all part of the joy of reading.
In the Boomer Babes Lifestyle survey, only one of the
respondents out of 140 reported not using the internet. Apparently someone in
her family “hooked her up” to answer the survey. So it does my heart good to
know you wise women are keeping up with keeping up.
For me, I’m glad to be connected. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t
be friends with many of you, and you wouldn’t be able to read this. In the
meantime, if you want to call me, I will answer the phone. Drop me an email and
I’ll get back to you. If you want to text me, I will text back. Want to friend
me on Facebook? I’ll friend you back. Want to comment on this blog? I’ll
respond. I’ll communicate in just about any format. Just don’t try to Tweet me.
Remember, I’ve got the account, but don’t use it. Oh, and I’m not Oprah, so I’m
not using my Instagram account either.
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Through compassion, you will find that all human beings are just like you. - Dalai Lama
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