Student searching for participants for a survey on atheists

[Illbethewriter]

Done.

I loved the way everybody 51+ is 'old enough not to differentiate anymore' I.E. just plain old  

LOL it's because I've looked at studies and there are significantly less 'older' people who actually use the internet.

The survey is meant to be for those in the UK, but as this isn't my actual dissertation I'm sure I can avoid demographics slightly. When I do my actual research proposal pilot study participants will have to be residing in the UK.

[Whitney]

LOL it's because I've looked at studies and there are significantly less 'older' people who actually use the internet.

Most people my parents age use the internet and they are in their 60s and 70s.  So, the studies you looked at may be a bit out of date.  The only reason the elderly have not used the internet as much as the other age groups is that they don't want to expend energy learning how to use technology that wasn't around during their working years (it apparently gets hard to learn new things)...we are getting really close to a time where no one will be left (in developed countries) who didn't have to use a computer on a daily basis.

So, you might want to change it to 80+

[Illbethewriter]

[/quote]

Most people my parents age use the internet and they are in their 60s and 70s.  So, the studies you looked at may be a bit out of date.  The only reason the elderly have not used the internet as much as the other age groups is that they don't want to expend energy learning how to use technology that wasn't around during their working years (it apparently gets hard to learn new things)...we are getting really close to a time where no one will be left (in developed countries) who didn't have to use a computer on a daily basis.

So, you might want to change it to 80+[/quote]

I was just talking to my boyfriend about this on the phone.
The studies I looked at were from like 2000-2002, but I agree and it's something I intend to write up in my report (basically I'll get marks for acknowledging where it can be improved etc.). Especially seeing as there are a cluster of people at the older end of the spectrum who have participated, so this is quite a clear indication of 'older' people becoming more computer literate.

I am learning

[Tank]

Most people my parents age use the internet and they are in their 60s and 70s.  So, the studies you looked at may be a bit out of date.  The only reason the elderly have not used the internet as much as the other age groups is that they don't want to expend energy learning how to use technology that wasn't around during their working years (it apparently gets hard to learn new things)...we are getting really close to a time where no one will be left (in developed countries) who didn't have to use a computer on a daily basis.

So, you might want to change it to 80+

I was just talking to my boyfriend about this on the phone.
The studies I looked at were from like 2000-2002, but I agree and it's something I intend to write up in my report (basically I'll get marks for acknowledging where it can be improved etc.). Especially seeing as there are a cluster of people at the older end of the spectrum who have participated, so this is quite a clear indication of 'older' people becoming more computer literate.

I am learning

The people who were 50+ in 2000 are now 60+ so and a lot of families now have Internet access that did not 10 years ago. Rather than go by age it is much safer to go by the year a person was born. I was born in late '59 and I was the first year that was allowed to use calculators while also being taught how to use a slide rule. I went on to be an electronics engineer and computers have been integral part of my life. There are plenty of people of my age and on to there 60s who regularly frequent the atheist forums I do.

[terranus]

No one I know over the age of 65 uses the internet, and considering I live in the "retirement state", that's something. My stepgrandfather is 80, and he plays solitaire and other simple games on the computer, but thats it. He has no clue how to get on the internet. The oldest person I know who uses the internet is my Dad, and he's 64.

[Illbethewriter]

No one I know over the age of 65 uses the internet, and considering I live in the "retirement state", that's something. My stepgrandfather is 80, and he plays solitaire and other simple games on the computer, but thats it. He has no clue how to get on the internet. The oldest person I know who uses the internet is my Dad, and he's 64.

I know right? My Mum can only play solitaire. My Granddad before he died at 70 could do most basic things, like ordering stuff and installing things, albeit at a very slow pace. We bought my Grandma a netbook and she's never even picked it up! She just refuses to use new technologies.

At least when I'm older, fatter and just plain decrepid I know I can always just get hooked on World of Warcraft like all my friends - I hope I die young.

[Melmoth]

Done it.

My mother can barely use the internet and she's 51. She doesn't understand what a hard drive is or how files work and just stores everything in a big scrambled heap on her desktop. Just too irritable and impatient to learn, I think.

[Tank]

Done it.

My mother can barely use the internet and she's 51. She doesn't understand what a hard drive is or how files work and just stores everything in a big scrambled heap on her desktop. Just too irritable and impatient to learn, I think.

My wife and I are both 51 and can remember the days when computers did what you f***ing told them to! Not what the f***ing programmer thinks you want it to do!!!!  

Every new version of Microsoft software gets dumbed down more and more and more to the point where they are now next to f***ing useless if you want to use them in a way Microsoft has not considered! And their online apps are mind-numbingly shite! It's almost as if the programmers are bored and taking the piss!

[Melmoth]

Every new version of Microsoft software gets dumbed down more and more and more to the point where they are now next to f***ing useless if you want to use them in a way Microsoft has not considered! And their online apps are mind-numbingly shite! It's almost as if the programmers are bored and taking the piss!

I quite like Windows 7. It's completely useless and shite, yeah - I'm with '98 all the way on that - but it's so shiny. Everything on my screen looks edible.

[terranus]

Say what you want about Windows 7 being dumbed down, but I've had it for over 2 years now with NO stability problems whatsoever. I mean NO unexpected system errors, no freeze-ups/crashes, no blue screens, no nothing. Have had some problems with updating Adobe Flash Player and Java. For some reason whenever I apply updates to one or the other, neither one will work anymore until I completely uninstall and reinstall both. Pretty sure this is program error, and unrelated to Windows 7. But maybe I'm wrong....in which case I've experienced only ONE major issue with Windows 7 over the past 2 years.