Technology - a pain for the elderly

"Older people would, for instance, not want to download a new tune onto their mobile every week but prefer to have an up-to-date version of the bus schedule to avoid waiting at the bus stop."

Berlin, Dec 11 (DPA) Older people often find themselves at a loss when forced to use complicated electronic gadgets with pulldown menus and tiny keyboards. People unfamiliar with computer logic needing spectacles to read and whose fingers are no longer that nimble face problems with many products.

Two-thirds of older people are frustrated when using some of the modern household technology with video recorders and can openers topping the list, says a survey conducted by the German Association of Seniors (BAGSO). Some 92 percent of older people also said they had problems opening food packaging. While in such cases scissors or knives are mostly helpful, it is more difficult when it comes to understanding the service manuals of many gadgets.

'It's absurd but some manufacturers appear to do all they can to make their products unsaleable,' says Juergen Hoewe, a psychologist for gerontology at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.

Older people often abstain from buying a product, if the user manual appears too complicated.

A study conducted by the Howe Project Group found that women over 60 felt they were being treated as 'silly old ladies' and given poor advice in car dealerships.

The psychologist advises old people to familiarise themselves with technology as it can often make life safer and more comfortable. Howe advises older adults to be critical and assertive toward sales staff.

Sometimes, he says it is advisable to seek out older sales people who understand their problems better.

The Senior Research Group (SRG) in Berlin tests the compatibility of such gadgets as PC notebooks, MP3-Players and mobiles for older people.

But whether a product is suitable or not for the individual has to be tried out. 'The needs, interests and background knowledge of each individual is different,' says Dietrich Gohlke from SRG.

A mobile with just three keys can be useful for a disabled person, but older people are quite satisfied if the keys are bigger than normal.

Older adults often have to overcome a personal resistance to holding a mobile or using a computer mouse.

'But once this resistance has been overcome many people realize how useful many of these things are,' says Gohlke, who found that older people tend to use computers intensely once they know how to deal with them.

Prior to buying a product, the consumer should reflect on whether the product is really needed. Kai-Uwe Neth, head of the SRG, says: 'It is not important what a gadget can do, but whether it is a solution to a specific need.'

Older people would, for instance, not want to download a new tune onto their mobile every week but prefer to have an up-to-date version of the bus schedule to avoid waiting at the bus stop.

Some computer schools have specialised in teaching adults over the age of 50 on how to use the Internet to buy a certain product, book a holiday or to do online banking. >src<

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