Computer and Internet Use among a Group of Sydney Seniors: A Pilot Study

Despite popular conceptions of older people's technophobia, statistics show them to be one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Australian population to take up the Internet. Most Australian research on older people's use of computers and the Internet has focused on the barriers to their embracing technology, and ways to overcome obstacles. This paper reports on a pilot study, which instead centred on the motivations of older people who have adopted computers and the Internet, and reveals their trepidation but also their thirst for social interaction, their quest for pertinent information and their desire to keep up with the times.