March 13 was officially Digital Learning Day, a day that focuses on educating the public to leverage digital tools. The National Writing Project describes the informal holiday as a nationwide celebration that supports digital learning. While you may not have grown up with computers like your grandkids, you can still become tech-savvy and reap the benefits of better living through technology.
Making Connections
Organizations like Net Literacy focus on increasing computer access for the senior population. They work to provide independent living communities, senior centers and retirement apartments with computers and WiFi service. As part of the program, they teach residents basic computer skills.
Their goal is to give seniors a way to make connections, to stay in touch with family— even the ones that live far away. Seniors can use—and many, like you, are already using— the Internet to socialize via networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, too. The latest 2014 data from Pew Research shows an escalation of seniors on social media sites.
- Fifty-six percent of seniors use Facebook
- Ten percent use Twitter
- Six percent have Instagram accounts
- Thirteen percent use Pinterest
- Twenty-one percent maintain a LinkedIn profile
All these numbers are up from 2013, meaning more seniors are going online to make connections.
Managing Your Health
As health reform takes effect in this country, digital literacy for everyone, including seniors living well on their own, becomes more important. Part of the new Meaningful Use standards requires doctors to provide online portals for patients. Through portals like this, you can access their medical information, pay bills, and learn more about your own health.
Many seniors deal with multiple chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and the Internet offers plenty of resources where you can learn about how to better manage any health conditions you may have.
Sites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic have Q&A platforms, learning resources and even ways to look up specific medications. WebMD also has a mobile application that allows you to ditch your paper-and-ink medical information sheet in favor of a digital version that can be accessed from a smartphone or tablet.
You can even use Internet programs to track your daily exercise, manage your diet and chat with a nurse or dietician if you have questions. The Mayo Clinic offers an online community where you can connect with others who have similar health situations for added support.
Exercising the Mind
There is some indication that mental activity can help ward off dementia, and having access to the Internet offers a ways for you to enhance brain fitness. For example, games like crossword puzzles may possibly lower the risk of Alzheimer’s. The debate is ongoing about just how helpful brain games are in reducing the risk of dementia, but logic puzzles that require you to think have been linked to better mental acuity.
Digital devices like ereaders provide seniors with better access to books. Some public libraries offer ebooks for patrons to download for free. They can use the Internet to participate in book clubs, read reviews and even blog about the books they love.
It is educational opportunities, however, that may offer your brain the most benefit— you use it or lose it, after all— and many MOOC classes are now available for free from some of the top learning institutions in the world. Take a class on statistics from Harvard or combine brain and body health with a diabetes management course from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
With computer access, seniors can take single classes for free or even start working towards a degree.
U.S News reports that about 60 percent of accredited schools have tuition waiver programs for seniors, so they can complete their education at no cost.
Living well via the Internet? Computers have made life easier for everyone, including seniors. From finding a good book to talking to the doctor on Facebook, Internet access expands the horizons for those in their golden years.
