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No, we will not divulge the authors of these remarks. Each of them is a senior member of the Internet community, most are over 70, and I've met a number of them in person. I asked them to let me know how their lives had been changed by their use of the Internet. Some of the brief answers at the end of this section were gathered several years ago by Dawn for HTML 825 Spectrum Virtual University and the others are from more recent correspondence with long-time users. Here are some of their answers:
"I am, 64, widow for 7 years, have 2 children, 3 grand- children. I have a master's degree in Adult and Community Education and spent most of my career teaching in the area of adult literacy and basic education. At present I teach occasional classes in study skills through the University. The internet has had an enormous impact on my life by opening it to experiences and possibilities I never would have dreamed of just a few years ago. I would say the greatest influences have been email and the chatrooms."
"I am a communicator, and the Internet has expanded my horizons in that field. Through message boards, mature chat rooms, and email, I have increased my number of friends since I got the computer four years ago. The 2,000 new friends reside in 43 countries, and their ages range from 6 to 96. Prior to discovering cyberspace, I employed amateur radio since the age of 13. But the computer is a much broader social spectrum, requiring no cumbersome antennna, no license, and there is no fading or static. It is visual as well as verbal."
"Being older meant having a good degree of perseverance and little by little I got acquainted with operating the darned thing. On my early server, I made a lot of friends and acquaintances with whom the hours flowed by. Some became serious friends in spite of the slow pace of any operating system in the early days. After a couple of computer upgrades, I blundered into a chat room for people of my age or generally retirees. More friends, more pals. The older folks had the grand gift of treating each other with great courtesy and respect."
"I have just completed a BTh degree at one of the Australian universities and I did quite a bit of research on the net. As yet I haven't made myself or web page, partly because I don't seem to have the time. I tend to come onto the net twice the day for short periods, 50 minutes or less. One extra thing that I have used the net a lot for in the past, is the chat rooms. I have made some very nice friends whom I will probably never see, in the chat rooms. My bookmark file seems full so there must be a lot more things that I do. I also use the net when necessary to get information for some young friends who are doing projects at their local school. Hope all this info is of use to you. Because of my commitment to the Internet, once a week I teach at our local library. I have chosen to teach people of my own age group as I believe that as a communication device, the Internet is really what I thought the global village was all about. It is my earnest intent to have as many old people computer literate, especially with email and the Internet as is possible."
MIDNIGHT EXCHANGE IN ONE OF THE CHAT ROOMS:
"Some of my favorite sites:
"Old people you say!!!!!!!!! I am a pensioner....a senior.... and do not consider myself 'OLD'. If you are interested in positive feedback for your thesis, you may want to have an attitude adjustment. The trick is to live a long time without growing old.
But this same person has also sent the following:
"We are all individuals doing our thing on the
net. And because we are "older" we probably have a wider range of interests than young kids. I check my 649 ticket on the net; I checked the position of Hale-Bopp for times and directions. I checked out the Galileo pics from Nasa, and the "life-on-the-Mars-asteroid" pics, too. I looked for info on croquet, because I'm thinking of establishing a croquet court at the resort. Then I found the Vancouver Croquet club, and found Tilley's Endurables is a sponsor. So I checked out their catalogue And of course I like to listen to (members of the Freenet Seniors SIG) natter away. And - oh, and I forgot, we have a Web site for the Resort, and we have people calling in to inquire - So, what do other people use it for?"
"It has opened another world to me. I have met *958* wonderful people, located in 48 states and
37 countries. I keep a *guestbook* of everyone, which is a hobby within a hobby. Ages range
from 10 to 96. It's important for seniors to stay active, physically and mentally."
"The internet is my window to the world. Through it I have met and become friends with people all
over the world and have gained a new perspective on politics, cultures, languages and world
events. These years have been a joyous adventure through cyberspace which has permitted me to
by-pass time and space to meet kindred spirits."
"One of the most enteresting effective ways that the internet has affected my life is that it has
brought the most fascinating way of communicating with people from all over the world,
especially with those who live in my own birth place, Portugal; my city where I was born,
Guarda. The internet has brought people communicating in a friendly and educative manner that it
has improved all knowledge of different places, cultures, and we feel we have the world in our
hands, understanding people in a way never imaginable to humans who lived not in the far remote
past."
"It has literally opened the world up for me. I correspond regularly with people from around the
world. On news groups, there is an unlimited amount of browsing to do. My technical prowess
benefits indirectly from just keeping up with changes on the way the internet and the web works."
"For me it opened already contacts to people around the world as well as nearby, reduced efforts to
write snail mail letters, to phone to people you never reach or to fax something around for lots of
money and with no chance to get the fax into your computer to work on it further. I'm convinced
that computerism came out of being a self concerning matter to a broad means of communication
and opens a new way to change daily life more than most communicative developments since."
"Made me feel the New Zealand is a little closer to the rest of the world. I have 'met' and am in regular touch
with women of my own age group and with similar interests. The more I use this new technology,
the more I feel confident to face the challenges of the next century."
"I moved about a year ago to a community where the only one I knew was my daughter and was
about 4 hours drive from my old home. The computer and internet has helped me spend many,
many hours very enjoyably which would have otherwise been very lonely. I have gotten involved
in a number of senior programs and have met a lot of wonderful people and received a lot of very
funny jokes."
"E-mail was the major link which joined my husband's family when his mother was sick and after
she died. It is still our widespread family's main communication link. My husband and I use the
weather reports and maps when we travel, to help in planning successful trips."
"The internet ( primarily SeniorNet and E-mail) has made my life much more interesting and much
busier. My life has always been busy and active since my husband's retirement, but now I find
that the time I used for relaxation is now spent on the computer."
"I live a pretty quiet life since I retired. I had worked in various management positions and simply
burned out on dealing with lots of people. The Internet, however, has given me the opportunity to
be in my little home and still maintain contact with the world."
"My life has been affected rather dramatically as I now spend hours every day in the SeniorNet and
reading the e-mail. I subscribe to several mailing lists which also increases the time spent
handling mail. I also now get my written news and weather from the Internet and have cancelled
my newspaper subscription.?
"It has allowed me to reach folks that I would not have met without it. I enjoy (most of) the stories
and opinions written, and I enjoy writing my two-cents worth from time to time. I also reach my
children, grandchildren and other relatives more frequently. It has also interfered with other items
in my life...like not getting enough sleep from time to time. I think, on balance, the positive far
outweighs the negative effects. "
"I appreciate the opportunity to express views and opinions with the knowledge that my word/thoughts
will not be *censored*. If a person writes to an editor of a newspaper or other media, and it is not
politically correct, or does not agree with the views of the owner of the newspaper, magazine,
TV, etc., it will never see the light of day. Same thing if you write an elected govenment official
where many persons 'screen' the mail and can place your stuff in a wastebasket or better yet
*shred it*. This condition does not apply with the free expressions of people using the Net.
Also, if you express thoughts in public and some hot head does not take kindly to your views,
you may be the recipient of vandalism to your car or home, or may even be killed *dead*."
"It has given me a window on the world and helped me stay involved in an ongoing educational
process."
"I have something more to enjoy in life..a new hobby. I also use it for research for my job and for
personal research, and find it very stimulating intellectually."
"As a widow, I have many long hours alone. The Net has opened up a new world, bringing
exciting people, places and events into my life. It has also taken a lot probably too much) of my
time."
"As I gradually become less mobile, the Internet will help me to stay connected to the outside. I
appreciate being able to find folks with whom I have some common interests and a common life
history. I've also met some lovely younger people, as well. It's a big world!"
"I recently enrolled in three courses on the internet and althoughthey keep me extremely busy, I
find them exciting and challenging. I am learning so much. I have also met wonderful people of
all ages. An internet prayer family has been one of the most rewarding and heartwarming
experiences I've had via the internet."
"Fourteen months ago I didn't even know what a modem was or what the word "e-mail" meant and
now, I realize just what a wonderful opportunity we have to meet people, comfort people, learn
new things and also to tell others of what my wonderful Saviour has done for me. I feel that God
has opened doors that up until now have been hard to open. I feel a freedom to talk about God's
love, and how He shed His precious blood on Calvary's cross for poor sinners.
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