Myfriends online week | NIACE

Myfriends online week Monday, March 21, 2011 - 11:01

hive worcester

Age UK's myfriends online week is encouraging older adults to discover the social side of the internet and learn the latest ways to make new friends and keep in touch with old friends and family.

In the last year, NIACE - together with Digital Unite - has been helping the two-thirds of people over 65 who live in sheltered housing but can't get online, through the Get Digital scheme. Get Digital has funded 196 sheltered housing schemes across the country, enabling them to buy computers, software and other digital equipment, as well as providing in-house IT training for residents.

To support other sheltered housing schemes in investing in similar digital inclusion projects once the Get Digital scheme ends this month, resources - including good practice guides, case studies and learning materials - have been developed for scheme managers to help sustain the learning. These can be accessed for free online at www.getdigital.org.uk.

Some of the 8,000 older residents that have taken part in and benefitted from existing Get Digital schemes have said:

Nancy - "[The Internet] is the kind of thing that if you don't get a handle on, you're going to be lost in this world. I've been dying to get computers. My family and grandchildren are all in America and they have skype and a webcam and I can talk to them. It's just opened up a whole world."

My family and grandchildren are all in America and they have skype and a webcam and I can talk to them. It's just opened up a whole world.

Nancy

Alice - "Things are changing rapidly [but] you don't have to go outside to learn anything, it's all inside the building. I always want to learn something new. It's nice and it makes you feel young again despite your age."

Eula - "I'm learning so much information that I can also pass on to the people here, to help them."

Alastair Clark, NIACE Senior Programme Director, said:

"Isolation really can affect the quality of life for older adults and modern digital communications can play a vital part in overcoming this. We know from our research and from our front-line work that older adults have so much to gain from learning the skills to use the digital world. Contacting friends and family can be a great motivator."

via niace.org.uk