Paper Proposal Draft

That Dang Thing: Computer Literacy and the Elderly

My paper studies computer literacy among the elderly, especially among widows. Drawing on the book Older Americans and Computers by Bonny Bhattacharjee and the article “Older Computer-Literate Women: Their Motivations, Obstacles, and Paths to Success” by Rita L. Rosenthal, I question the motivations of some programs that seek to bring computer literacy to the elderly and offer suggestions that focus on familial, medical, local, and religious uses of the Internet for older users.
Recent figures suggest that computer use has risen to 25% among older populations (Gatto and Tak, “Computer, Internet, and E-mail Use Among Older Adults: Benefits and Barriers”); women are now using computers as much as men if not more, and confidence is on the rise. However, the poor, minorities, and widowers and widows often have little or no access, and little or no help attaining the skills they need. I focus on that last group because less research has been done on bereavement (loss of social grounding) as a barrier to computer literacy than on class and race concerns; I also have two widowed grandmothers who are sporadic computer users, and I wanted to better understand their particular connections to the Internet.
As we might expect, studies have shown that computer use can counteract loneliness and depression, aid in the bereavement process, and help elders attain health information. As Gatto and Tak write, use often leads to a feeling of “connectedness, satisfaction, utility, and positive learning experiences.” These feelings must be preceded by computer literacy, however, and the barriers to such literacy for elderly people are numerous.
What my paper focuses on primarily are those barriers Gatto and Tak identify: “frustration, physical and mental limitations, mistrust, and time issues.” Mistrust is of particular interest here because it points to an education problem, a problem, for widows and widowers, that is exacerbated by newfound individuality. It might be remedied, I argue, with creativity, patience, and some old-fashioned product placement; those seeking to help older users become active members of lively Internet exchange need only to look for ways to package their information in recognizable terms. I argue that families of the elderly, medical professionals, local news sources, and churches should promote computer-education services to combat computer illiteracy and mistrust of technology. These are the organizations that engender trust and can be the proverbial spoon full of sugar that helps the medicine of computer lessons go down.
Using S. Fox's Older Americans and the Internet and M. Hilt's and H.J. Lipschultz's “Elderly
Americans and the Internet: Email, TV, Information and Entertainment Websites,” I offer user-friend solutions to the frustration problem, as well. Perhaps most importantly, though, I lobby for computer applications that cater directly to the needs of those who are easily alienated by information overload.
Many elders achieve computer literacy by ginger steps; these steps, though, are integral to a feeling of connectedness and can bring folks toward a sense of independence and achievement.