Of the older people who do use the internet the highest percentage is used in sending/receiving emails at 69% for 55-64yrs and 41% of 65yrs. The next highest percentage is used for reviews and buying goods and services over the internet, services for travel, then internet banking, reading, radio, making video calls, social media and blogs. Although social media is less used than the other applications on the internet, social media has proved to reduce social isolation and loneliness. There is a risk of this leading to more isolation where family or friends may feel they conduct sufficient communication via social media/video calls that it may lead to further physical isolation, it could also lead to spending too much time on technology, playing games etc. However Age UK concluded that ‘the positive effects of internet access and internet use (including its likely impact on reducing social isolation) outweigh its potential negative effects (internet overuse, attention deficit, deterioration of cognitive skills).’ The positive effects therefore outweigh the potential negative effects and can decrease loneliness and social isolation which is a major concern for charities as well as families and carers.
Taking into account the most used applications which the elderly use the internet for, what I want to do is reduce loneliness with integration of social media, events pages, easy contact and video calls but also integrate some of the more used apps to encourage more users to use the social media aspect of communication. This would involve travel options and links to google maps to events on the page to ensure they can find and access events near them with ease. An interesting aspect which the elderly use the internet for is gaining reviews of products and buying products and services, how I could integrate this is having a discussion page where users can leave their reviews and opinions of products they use where others can comment and share opinions similar to a blog or forum page to integrate and gain communication with each other. This could not only be opinions on products but also on films, shows, books etc. which can create a library of recommended entertainment suggested and discussed by people similar to them. The email service would be integrated through a messaging service with other users as well as the group forum page for mass discussion.
Although social media was quite low down at 24% of 55-64yrs and 10% of 65+yrs using the internet for social media, Age UK write: ‘we found that for older people the primary attraction of getting online was highly personal, and included drivers such as communicating with dispersed family or seeing photographs of loved ones’. This suggests that the elderly originally want to access the internet for communication and keeping up to date, although this is achieved via email, it is a slower process of communication than social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which give instant updates from a wider variety of loved ones. This suggests that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are too over complicated when starting a new profile and may require assistance from younger people for setting up an account. Social media may over complicate things for the elderly as there use slang terms which they may not grasp straight away such as tweeting, hash tagging, tags, status, wall, sharing, selfies etc. Martin Lock, CEO of SIlversurfers.com states that “Being comfortable using Facebook will help older people stay connected to their families and friends, and may help alleviate loneliness in later years,”. Elderly people may not be interested with celebrity stories, memes, funny videos, gossip etc. and simply want to stay connected, Silversurfers.com found ‘the most popular type of Facebook posts for the over 50s are nostalgia, human interest, and handy tips.’. If a social page was created for the over 50’s instead of having to filter through the younger generation jargon and posts which do not interest them it could be revolved around sharing interests and tips, asking for help, sharing memories etc. which is more tailored to their interests.