28 replies to this topic

[SearchRank]

Are there really still people out there who aren't online yet?

My in-laws have never used a computer. As a matter of fact, my father in law had never been on a jet till just 2 years ago and he's 63!

Also, alot of construction contractors still don't know how to use the computer and don't want to. Oh well. :upsidedown:

[Scottie]

I agree there are still challenges, but there are also lots of opportunities if people choose to take advantage of them. You can't make people want to be online if they have no interest, for whatever reason.

Case in point: the digital divide with the elderly. I bought my grandmother a computer, set up internet access for her and sat with her for 2 days going over the basics. Did she ever log on after I left? No.... she had a very large paperweight-dustgathering knickknack to work around.

Digital divide with underprivileged youth: I worked with a United Way program mentoring kids. Some wanted to learn and did. They found time to work at the computer at school or at the library or at the center. Others signed up because they had to and didn't complete assignments because it wasn't convenient. They didn't really enjoy it.

I'm more worried about the kids that don't have warm coats or that deal with abuse at home than I am worried about the kids without Internet access. It's there, it may not be as convenient as having your own computer, but there are many places to gain access and those are growing.

[Scottie]

LOL, searchrank.

OK- one more example and I'll stop...

I had a lady working with me in the IT dept at the hospital. Smart as a whip, could bend the hospital information system to her will and troubleshoot in the blink of an eye.

She didn't have a computer at home. Didn't want one. She never accessed the internet except for research at work. She just wasn't interested!

I think the "divide" numbers can be really misleading... she would be counted as a stat- no internet access. But she clearly knew what the internet was about, was not uneducated or poor, but was not interested.

I'm not saying the divide doesn't exist... just that the numbers can be easily misinterpreted.

[dragonlady7]

> the numbers can be easily misinterpreted
Any numbers can and will be misinterpreted! But they're a good entry point to a debate and brainstorm on the topic.

[SearchRank]

I bought my grandmother a computer, set up internet access for her and sat with her for 2 days going over the basics. Did she ever log on after I left? No.... she had a very large paperweight-dustgathering knickknack to work around.

That's funny Mine too!

My grandmother does use hers to sit nick-knacks around and pictures of grandchildren of course. Funny grandma. Luckily she didn't spend much on it. It is an e machine.

[Jill]

...and was able to get online there and check a few things I needed.

LOL...yeah, like forum posts, instant messages...

[Jill]

Case in point: the digital divide with the elderly. I bought my grandmother a computer, set up internet access for her and sat with her for 2 days going over the basics. Did she ever log on after I left? No.... she had a very large paperweight-dustgathering knickknack to work around.

LOL...that's why we bought my grandmother WebTV. It was a bit more intuitive to her. She knows about remote controls, and she knows about TV. I think she still uses it occasionally. And she's about 94 or 95 right now!

Jill

[BrianR]

As the computer-educated generation grows up, the computer and internet access will undoubtedly become more entrenched in society. However, there will always be a digital divide simply because there will always be a good chunk of people who, for a variety of reasons, just don't want to know.

BrianR

[dragonlady7]

My grandma has a computer and AOL but she has trouble double-clicking. She can type 100 wpm but she can't use the mouse.

My great-aunt, on the other hand, has a webtv and is on there every day all day long forwarding us silly things. She's a whiz with it.

Well, she's not on it so much anymore, but that's because she just moved house. Hm, I should drop her a line and see what she's up to.
But really, that's the only way I know her; I haven't seen her since I was a child, and her sister (my other grandma) died last year so I started corresponding with her to cheer her up. The Web is fabulous, especially for matriarchs trying to keep in touch with everyone! But mastering the technology-- not so easy.

[Haystack]

dragonlady7, try slowing down the time between clicks on the mouse if you get a chance. That can definitely be adjusted and might make things easier for your grandma.

[dragonlady7]

Oh, we've done all kinds of adjustments for her... she doesn't like it when we change things, but she doesn't like the way they are either.
She has trouble because she moves the mouse between clicks, so she generally drags anything she's trying to click instead.
I thought of getting her a trackball, but she saw one and had no idea how to use it and wasn't interested.
It's not easy!

[qwerty]

I don't know what OS Grandma's running, but at least in XP (and I think in 9x as well), you can set things for single instead of double clicking.

To change the number of mouse clicks required to open items
Open Folder Options in Control Panel.
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options.
On the General tab, under Click items as follows, click the option you want.
Notes

If you click Single-click to open an item (point to select), you can also specify when icon titles are underlined.

[dragonlady7]

You can do that in 2000 too.
She's probably running 95.
She hardly uses it at all anymore. If I want to email her, I email Mom and have her print it out and bring it over... Gram's probably a lost cause.

My boyfriend's Gram is worse. She doesn't understand how email works. She will bring a letter to her daughter, who will type it into the computer and send it off to the grandkids or great-grandkids, and then Gram will ask her how much the postage was. She just doesn't get it. But I don't even think she learned how to type in the first place, so she's started even below my gramma. So...
Some people just aren't going to get online, and are happier that way.
Dave's Aunt Matilda can't master a push-button phone. She just doesn't get it. Her nursing home had to find her an old rotary one.

[qwerty]

Dave's Aunt Matilda can't master a push-button phone. She just doesn't get it. Her nursing home had to find her an old rotary one.

In a sense, very few of us have mastered push-button phones. We still talk about "dialling" a number, so the language for some reason hasn't caught up to the fact that practically nobody still dials.