[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      SENIORS SHUNNING COMPUTERS?

                                 ______


                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I would encourage my colleagues to read 
the following article by L.A. Lorek about the growing number of senior 
citizens who are making the transition into the age of the computer.
  As we move closer and closer toward the 21st century, the 
technological advances that we are experiencing and will experience, 
will massively expand our capacity to educate ourselves. For this 
reason, we should be very technologically oriented and we should 
reestablish technological advancement as a key part of our future.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that all of my colleagues will take the time to 
read L.A. Lorek's insightful column.

               [From the Birmingham News, Sept. 13, 1994]

           Seniors Shunning Computers? Don't You Believe It.

                            (By L.A. Lorek)

       Fort Lauderdale, FL.--Julian Tannenbaum. 63, tracks 
     retirement investments and personal finances on his laptop 
     computer in Delray Beach, Fla.
       Lynn Osterman, 57, runs a real estate business out of her 
     home with the aid of her personal computer.
       Lou Michael, 91, published his memoirs on a desktop 
     personal computer, at his home in Lake Worth, Fla.
       Although they grew up during a time when typewriters still 
     required carbon paper to make copies and computers didn't 
     exist, adults age 55 and over is the fastest growing group of 
     new personal computer owners.
       Nearly one out of every three adults in South Florida, or 
     31.7 percent of the population, owned a personal computer. In 
     1993, according to the 1993 Scarborough report which tracks 
     retail trends. That's up about 77 percent from 1990 when 18.6 
     percent of the local population answered yes to Scarborough's 
     question.
       But PC ownership among those 55 and over jumped in the same 
     three-year period. In 1990, about 8.7 percent, or 82,500 
     adults, over 55 in South Florida owned a computer. By 1993, 
     the number of PC owners in that age group was 169,000, or 
     19.3 percent of the population of adults 55 and over.
       ``It keeps me young,'' said Tannenbaum, who is taking a 
     class at Computer Coach in Boca Raton to learn more about 
     using Microsoft's Windows program.
       ``I want to keep in touch with today's generation,'' 
     Tannenbaum said. ``The best way to learn to use a computer is 
     to forget everything you learned in the past and keep an open 
     mind.''
       Osterman said she wants to use her computer to get on-line 
     and exchange messages with her children and grandchildren.
       ``They all have e-mail,'' Osterman said. ``For my 
     generation, computers are something we're having to learn 
     late in life, but we're adapting to them. I'm even learning 
     some things about computers my kids don't know.''
       Computer sales to seniors are growing nationwide, said Paul 
     Wheaton, spokesman with Dataquest, a San Jose, Calif.-based 
     market research firm. Dataquest doesn't track sales based on 
     age, but reports that consumers bought more than 5.3 million 
     personal computers for their home in 1993, representing 36 
     percent of the market.
       Several businesses such as Computer Coach in Boca Raton 
     offer classes to teach adults how to use computers with 
     prices starting at around $99 for five hours of instruction. 
     Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Community College and 
     Broward County School's Adult and Vocational Centers offer 
     computer training geared for adults and seniors.
       A drop in computer prices and easier to use consumer-based 
     software has prompted more seniors to buy computers, said 
     Jack Matisoff, 75, who founded Huntington Lakes Computer Club 
     in Delray Beach four years ago. The club, which meets on the 
     second Thursday of every month, has 50 members ranging from 
     55 to 79 years old.
       Like other seniors, most of the Huntington Lakes Computer 
     Club members use computers to track investments and for word 
     processing, but the computer on-line services are also 
     becoming very popular, Matisoff said. More than a dozen 
     computer club members regularly exchange electronic mail with 
     one another on-line, he said.
       ``We've got a lot of people interested in the latest 
     technology and how to make it work for them,'' Matisoff said. 
     ``We try to keep the meetings down to earth so they can learn 
     and not be intimidated.''
       More than 14,500 people have signed up for America Online's 
     Senior Net, a non-profit group for computer users 55 and 
     over. CompuServe's Senior Forum and Prodigy's Seniors 
     Bulletin Board, both boast more than 200,000 subscribers 
     each. In general, subscribers pay a monthly fee from $9.95 to 
     $14.95 to access the forums.
       Most of the on-line services aimed at seniors contain a 
     wealth of information on Social Security, health and 
     medicine, computers, finances, families, cooking and more. 
     They also feature chat sessions in which seniors can meet and 
     exchange information on a variety of topics from divorce to 
     skydiving.
       One of the most popular areas in which people post messages 
     in Senior Net is called Generation to Generation, said 
     Margaret Ryan, America Online spokeswoman. The bulletin board 
     contains thousands of messages with seniors and youngsters 
     exchanging information on careers, wars, politics and music.

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