Seniors

There are three essential elements in the design and implementation of an effective broadband adoption program for seniors living in senior housing communities and for their surrounding neighborhoods.

The Internet is helping older British readers rekindle a love of books and writing, and an overwhelming majority of senior citizens see the medium as a positive development.

The answer to the question - why did the chicken cross the road - is that the chicken saw sufficient value on the other side of the road to take the trouble and assume the risk of crossing the road.

Despite the challenge of learning a new language and a new way of doing things, for many seniors, using technology has become an everyday activity. And technology appears to be getting more comfortable going a little gray too.

According to the NielsenWire Online, while people 65 and older still make up less than 10% of the active Internet universe, in the last five years their number has increased by more than 55 percent, from 11.3 million active users in November 2004 to 17.5 million in November 2009.

A couple of recent studies indicate elders are beginning to appreciate and embrace the health benefits of information technology, a trend some predict will grow rapidly as the health industry gets up to speed with digital technology. Tangible, measurable health benefits of technology, along with anecdotal evidence delivered word-of-mouth or through the media, will boost seniors' engagement, experts say.

New York Law School's Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute focuses on older Americans and people with disabilities and four sectors -- health, energy, education, and government -- that stand to benefit greatly from more robust utilization of broadband but, for the reasons discussed herein, face a number of barriers to further adoption of broadband and broadband-enabled technologies.

A team of scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles report that new Internet users between the ages of 55 and 78 improved their scores on decision-making and complex reasoning tests after just seven days online.

The Federal Communications Commission released its latest report on telephone subscribership levels in the United States. The telephone subscribership penetration rate in the US was 95.6% -- this is the highest reported rate since data collection began in November 1983.

New data show that Medicare beneficiaries registered to use My Health Manager, Kaiser Permanente's personal health record, are overwhelmingly satisfied with using the Internet to manage their health care online....