Why have some older people not adopted Internet?

[SparklyNewMe]

My parents have embraced it naturally somehow, and DM is very active on SM.
PIL have not - similar ages but always scoffed at it as if it was devil’s work. No smartphones. Both were switched on and active in olde age. MIL is on her own now, dependent on DH and BIL for all admin, and simpler things she deals with on her own like finding opening times are harder. But it was 100% choice, not inability, to adopt it, as MIL went to college in her 60s to learn Microsoft Office and has been using Word and Excel for her hobby. But email or internet - dismissed completely.

It gets more difficult in older age to learn new technologies and how it all work. I'm 64. I learned computers in my 20s with a Wang processor and was not connected to Internet at work or at home until my early 30s.

I don't have a problem navigating the net, emails, Powerpoint presentations, excel, VPNs or changing settings on my tablet or smartphone. But it doesn't mean I'm as good as many of you solving connection problems at home.

Let me give an example. I want to upgrade my internet connection but it means changing passwords everywhere. The majority of them like TV, tablets, and phones are easy but then I have solar power connected and for the life of me, I can't understand how to do it despite instructions.

I also won't be able to get a new smart TV with the settings I have now. My youngest son in his teens, had to do it the last time.

One day, most of you will be old as me 😊and your children and grandchildren will be years ahead of you with new technology.

Be kind to your old folks.

I don't know but we have similar. My Dad is very computer savvy and uses the Internet and a smart phone.

Mum took longer but was happily shopping online and browsing Facebook etc

The inlaws won't use it for anything. We bought them a smart phone so they could do basic tasks but they wouldn't use it. They ask DH to do things that need the Internet, like booking medical stuff.

And yet again
https://istheservicedown.co.uk/status/bt-british-telecom/2654938-braintree-essex-england-united-kingdom

I think there is another side to this. Our IT skills might be great but we are losing other skills. A young relative went out in his car. His phone ran out of battery and he got lost because he hadn’t got google maps. He didn’t have a paper map in the car and even if he did, he wasn’t practised in using one. He was getting low on petrol and his means of payment was on his phone.
Mountain Rescue are being called out these days because people don’t carry a paper map and compass or have any map reading skills. The route and map they have on their phone is no good if they can’t get a signal or they run out of battery.

This worries me too. My DD goes out with no purse/cards/cash, it’s all on her phone. If her phone was stolen, she’d be stranded.

My local hospital suffered a cyber attack last month and all appointments and operations were cancelled. It took a couple of weeks to get back up and running, and it was their third attack in 2024! Two weeks is huge for a hospital to be out of action. In cases like that, you’d think there were at least some appointments or treatments that could go ahead without digital records. We’re relying on technology for too much, and we’ve lost the old manual ways of doing things completely.

I booked the tv engineer to set up my smart tv. I was 60.

Just not technical.

@Anonym00se

My DD goes out with no purse/cards/cash, it’s all on her phone. If her phone was stolen, she’d be stranded.

But if all she had was her purse and that was stolen, she'd be stranded too!

It's wise to have all bases covered, i.e. phone (with apple wallet), a card and some cash.

For my MIL it’s stubbornness (I’ve honestly never met anyone as stubborn and combative in my life) and laziness. She was the same with learning to drive. She has been encouraged for 40 years to learn these things and won’t. She’s now 74 and makes my husband do everything and finds herself increasingly isolated.

My great aunt and great uncle however are in their mid 80s and nothing stops them. They are absolute whizzes on the computer and have kept their curiosity about things.

And again