Group Aims To Help Seniors Get Online
April 6, 2010
| 2:54 PM
The FCC's top broadband official helped launch a new initiative Tuesday aimed at encouraging more older adults to utilize the Internet. The initiative, known as the Project to Get Older Adults Online, will work to help promote the adoption of broadband services by senior citizens.
Among those on hand for the group's launch was Blair Levin, executive director of the FCC's broadband initiative. Supporters of the group's cause point to the growing importance of broadband Internet access to all populations including senior citizens. They note that the Internet can be a key tool to assist seniors in obtaining telehealth services as well as health, entertainment and education information, while also providing another way to connect with family and friends. Despite these benefits, only 35 percent of adults 65 and older have broadband at home, the group said.
Among the reasons the group cites for why seniors are reluctant to use the Internet include a belief that there is no benefit in going online, a lack of comfort with computers, and a concern that bad things can happen to them online, Debra Berlyn, executive director of Project GOAL, said in a post on the group's Web site. "Offering tools and information regarding online safety, security and privacy for older adults is an important part of an effort to promote broadband adoption for the aging community," she added.
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