Although many older people retired before the computer was introduced into the workplace, those people who are now in their seventies, eighties and nineties have much to gain from being able to use a computer.

As a tool, it can compensate for some of the losses which commonly accompany old age, according to our Survey "Equal with Anybody - Computers in the Lives of Older People". It can also provide continuing opportunities to learn. However, in Britain efforts to promote digital inclusion are generally targeted at the young and this article explores some of the barriers which older old people experience in gaining access to a world which younger people now take for granted.

During the past ten years, my work with the City of Edinburgh Council Social Work Department has brought me into contact with many older people who require support because they are disabled and housebound. I have also come to know some of those older people who are no longer able to live in their own homes and who now live in some of the Department’s 14 ’care homes’. We helped a small group of care home residents to set up their own organisation, Senior Action Group Edinburgh (SAGE). A computer seemed an obvious tool for providing a ’window to the world’ for older people who cannot get out and about without the help of others, whether they live in a care home or in their own home. As a small experiment some years ago, we managed to get a second hand computer and set it up in one of the care homes.

As a result of this experiment - and later, when we provided more computers in other places - I came to understand some of the barriers which elderly people face if they wish to learn how to use a computer.

For example, William was a farm worker until he retired. He is 82, uses a wheelchair and lives in a care home run by a charitable organisation. Two months ago he was offered the opportunity to learn how to use a computer by a local organisation for older people. Although he had never used a computer in his life, he said: "Yes". He told me that he had won a competition for writing an essay when he was 7 years old and he wanted to use the computer to take up writing again. However, he told me about some of his difficulties (none of which have so far dissuaded him from learning).

Transport is provided to take him to the class, which is in a neighbouring building. A mini bus arrives at 11 a.m., but has to come back to pick him up again at 12 o’clock. He therefore has less than an hour, once a week, in which to learn. He said: "I find I can’t remember something. You can maybe remember that for a wee while, but then next week you forget it". He also said: "I’ve got to sit and wait for the girl (the instructor) to go by".

There is no computer available in the care home for him to practise on between lessons. Staff in the home have discovered that a number of businesses donate discarded computers, but that, because of licensing rules, second hand computers are wiped clean of all software and this is expensive to reinstall.

Like many other residents of care homes, William has little money of his own and would not be able to afford to buy his own computer. In care homes in Britain residents are allowed to keep only a small amount of money, after their accommodation costs are covered, to pay for clothes, toiletries, newspapers etc. Should William wish to ’surf the Net’ in the privacy of his own room, the allowance is not sufficient to pay for extras such as the installation or rental of a phone line.

William’s room in the Home is also very small - no bigger than 2 metres by 2 metres. Although he has said that he would like a computer of his own - he is very disabled and it would help him pass the long days - there is very little space to house a computer or a desk on which to put it. William has said himself that he would prefer a lap-top which he could fold away when not in use, but lap-tops tend to be even more expensive.

Although William’s is an extreme case, many other older people share his difficulties, which can perhaps be grouped under the following headings.

Attitudinal

William was not afraid to try to learn to use a computer. He and another resident are determined to continue with their classes, but he told me that other residents of the Home who started learning along with them have already given up.

A classroom environment may bring back painful memories of schooldays or of past failures. The older person may also assume they are too old to learn and this assumption may be reinforced by those around them.

Technological

Although there are many built-in accessibility options, standard computer equipment is not ’user-friendly’ for older old people. Clicking a mouse is difficult to manage if you have arthritis or have lost flexibility in your finger joints. It can be difficult to find your way around the keyboard if you have never learned to type or if your sight is poor. One person in his eighties I encountered had taught himself to use voice recognition software, but an older person may not know that such software exists, or how to use it.

Financial

Computers are expensive. One-to-one tuition, which older old people have told me they need, particularly at the beginning, may be out of reach of those on low incomes. Specialised equipment - such as simplified keyboards and big screen monitors - is also expensive. Paying for someone to come to your home to sort out problems when your computer goes wrong is also expensive.

Knowledge-based

Many older old people do not know what a computer can do - a computer is only a tool and a tool has to be used for something. One older person I encountered first discovered what a computer can do when she was trying to contact a large number of people and someone suggested she use a computer. Until then she thought computers were only for playing games, or for use in offices.

Commercial

Computer salerooms tend to be geared towards the needs and wishes of younger people. Sales people tend to be young and unlikely to understand the particular needs of those in their seventies and older. There are no chairs where older people can sit and rest, or consoles where an older person can ’try before they buy’ - or test to see which type of mouse or keyboard suits them best. Computer magazines and manuals are not geared towards the needs of the older reader or older beginner.

Situational

Other people may act as ’gatekeepers’ for the older person. For example, some older people are encouraged to take up computing by children and grandchildren, but others may be dependent on paid staff who do not have time, who are sceptical or uninterested, or who may themselves be afraid of using computers. In Scotland older old people lack a peer group who can provide them with the support they need.

Educational

Older people who have learned to use a computer have told me about the importance of receiving one-to-one tuition from people who understand the difficulties of older age, particularly at the beginning. They have told me they do not like classroom situations, where they have to wait their turn for help and where they may be with younger people who learn with apparent ease. They have told me they need to be taught one small step at time because everything takes longer as you get older and it is difficult to retain the information. ’William’ told me how stupid he felt when, as he hunted for a letter P on the keyboard, a small boy - trying to be helpful - found it immediately. Time and again, older people have said that instructors go too fast; they ’fix’ things for them on the screen, rather than taking the time to show them. Because they cannot follow the instructor’s movements the older person does not learn, is left feeling inadequate and may decide that computers are for younger people.

What can be done about these barriers?

On a recent visit to Sweden I discovered that many of the barriers listed above are taken care of by an organisation called SeniorNet. SeniorNet Sweden, which is modelled on a similar organisation in America, supports older people to use computers. Every year they hold a ’Senior Surf Day’ in libraries all over Sweden to encourage older people to try their hand at computing. There are also around 50 local groups in Sweden which are run by older people for older people, where older people can learn computing from their peers, at low or no cost and where they may be able to get help with buying a computer and with sorting out any problems when it goes wrong.

Younger old people who are involved with SeniorNet will be skilled computer users by the time they are perhaps disabled or housebound, or living in a care home. Their computer will be an invaluable ’window to the world’. But older old people can also enjoy computers now, if some of the barriers mentioned above are taken away. One elderly lady said to me about herself and her friend, both users of computers at a City of Edinburgh Council day centre for older people: "Jean is 90. It’s another world for us. Who would ever think that we’d be doing the likes of this at our age".

Although there are some excellent projects in Edinburgh which are helping older people - including those living in care homes - to use computers, there is no national initiative in Scotland to help older people use computers.