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By Anita Devasahayam |
June 15 , 1999 The whys and wherefores
SILVER-haired surfers may not be that common in Malaysia yet, but the trend is
catching on fast here. Just
browse community sites like Geocities, Tripod and Xoom, and you will be amazed by the
number of local senior citizens who have built homepages there. They're just ordinary people who are
fascinated with the Internet, and most of them only started using computers after they'd
retired. While a few senior citizens take to
computing like ducks to water, there are many more who still feel alienated from the
technology. There are many barriers -- lack of awareness, time, expenses, or just plain
fear of taking that first step. Retired civil servant Victor Sankey,
66, says senior citizens are not deliberately distancing themselves from technology.
``Internet access is just not that
urgent. Our priorities are different. There are more pressing matters to attend to,
instead of spending our pension on a PC,'' he says. He adds that even if a few are
attracted by what the Internet may promise, some feel inadequate to face it. ``Of course, that should not be the
case in this day and age, as IT is a tremendous asset, and the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages,'' he says. Schoolteacher Agnes Doss echoes his
views. Her son uses the Net regularly, and she used to wonder what he was up to when he
first started two years ago. Beyond switching on the PC, Doss admits she knows next to
nothing about computers. ``I have seen the Net in use as a
resource for information like health, and I do feel that I am missing out on something,''
she confesses. But Doss, 53, is determined to learn
and hopes to join the growing group of online seniors. Sankey agrees that a positive
attitude is important, and believes that the Internet can empower older folk. ``If you cannot afford the initial
outlay, there are cybercafes that will allow you to surf at reasonable rates,'' he points
out. He says he does harbour some regret
for not getting online, as he has children living and studying abroad. ``What better way
to communicate,'' he asks. More to IT Datuk N. Selvamany, the
former headmaster at Anderson School in Ipoh, also has the same good reason to get online.
``My children are living abroad, and e-mail would be the cheapest way to stay in touch
with them,'' he says. But he is in the league of
pensioners whose daily lives are busy enough as it is. So communications is limited to
phone calls and letter writing, he says. In fact, Selvamany, 73, recently had
to pass up the opportunity to take up a computer course as his social calendar was packed.
``Our days are so full and pass by
so fast -- my wife and I are involved with social and community work,'' he says, adding
that he is even busier now that he's retired, than when he was actually working. It's a little bit different for
61-year-old Dr Rugmini Panicker. The potent combination of loneliness and curiosity took
her and her husband to a computer shop where they bought a brand new Pentium multimedia PC
a couple of months ago. Panicker's two daughters in India
had been pestering her to buy a PC so that they could keep in touch. ``My husband and I miss our girls
and we are lonely without them. Everyone is talking about the Net and we decided to learn
about it,'' she says. With a week, the newbies learnt how
to use e-mail and surf the Net. ``We were fortunate to have one of our friend's kids come
teach us how to use the PC every weekend,'' Dr Panicker adds. Today, the couple spent an hour a
day at the PC. As the number of users continue to
multiply among older folk, it will create a powerful community to serve their needs, says
Sankey. Groups like the Ipoh Ratepayers and
Taxpayers Association would benefit from an online presence. Sankey, who is its
vice-president, believes that it will be a useful tool for disseminating information.
Published in In.Tech, Star Publications (M) Bhd. |
(C) 2000 Julian Matthews
& Anita Devasahayam. All Rights Reserved. Designed by Gerald Tan Chuang Win of ThriveCast.com |