Aging in the Digital World

For most Americans, the internet represents a way to stay connected and informed in many aspects of life. Yet, as the PEW articles suggest, not everyone views the internet as a valuable tool. In some instances, the World Wide Web is seen as a dangerous and expensive resource that does more harm than good. I was not at all surprised to see that older generation- Americans were the least likely to engage in online activity. In fact, "[j]ust 13% of those over age 65 have Internet access, compared to 65% of those under age 30" (PEW, "Who's Not Online"). Although I knew there would be a substantial difference, I would not have predicted the number of internet users over 65 to be only 13%; I would've thought the number was slightly higher.

I understand why the differences lie most prominently between these two age groups though. Americans over 65 have lived most of their lives without the internet, so they've grown accustomed to certain daily practices that may be hard to change. We often forget that the internet really only became accessible to the general public in 1994, when Netscape release their "Mosaic browser [which] was made available for free on the company's website" (PEW, "Internet Status"). For a 65 year-old person, the internet has only been around since they were over 50; for a 22 year-old person like myself, the internet has been around since I was 5. The difference is staggering. Throughout my entire educational career, for instance, computers and the World Wide Web have been the most prominently used resources. I can't really imagine my life without consistent access to the internet, while elderly people don't really see the point in having access to the internet.

Overall, I don't think that people without internet access are completely "out of the loop" and incapable of staying informed. They have lived most of their lives in a world without the Web, and they will be perfectly fine without it. With other sources of information such as TVs, newspapers, magazines, radios, and face-to-face conversations with others (something that has severely deteriorated thanks to the internet's growing popularity), people will still remain informed even without access to the World Wide Web. In today's world, internet access isn't quite mandatory, but I believe that will change in the future. As shopping, bill paying, and even banking become predominantly online activities, it's only a matter of time before internet access becomes an absolute necessity.