It is really exciting to hear that older generations, fondly known as ‘silver surfers’, are taking a more active interest in online platforms. From online dating to streaming their favorite TV programs online, you would be surprised how much your Grandma and or Grandpa are cooler than you…
Image by: Dr Hemmert
Spring Online and Silver Surfers Day
Spring Online, a Digital Unite initiative, works with Silver Surfers every year to increase levels of computer and web literacy amongst older web users. It aims to achieve big results from their annual Silver Surfer Day saying on their site:
“Silver Surfers’ Day is the biggest national campaign to promote the use of digital technologies by older people and was launched by Digital Unite in 2002. Each year we support people and organisations all over the UK to open their doors and give local older people a taste of what the digital world has to offer them. We estimate that over the years over 150,000 older people have engaged with digital technologies in this way.”
Digital Unite is a great organisation that is breaking down the digital and generational divides to quite literally unite people. If you want to find out more about them, you can visit their Digital Unite website to find out more about Spring Online or get chatting to them on their Facebook page about it.
Image: By Daveybot on Flickr
When is Silver Surfers Day?
Spring Online includes celebrations running up to and the actual day dedicated to Silver Surfers. Silver Surfers Day has now been extended to a week-long digital inclusion campaign from April 23-27.
When the campaign started 11 years ago, it was all about one day – Silver Surfers Day. It generated a huge amount of interest, so last year Digital Unite extended the campaign to a week and called it Spring Online.
Silver Surfers Day now takes place on the Friday of the celebration week, so it will take place this year on Friday April 27th, 2012.
10 reasons why Grandpa is cooler than you
The Plusnet Community blog recently blogged about Silver Surfers and how they are adapting and adopting the web and superfast broadband into their everyday lifestyle. They also gave some interesting facts about Silver Surfers saying:
• 72% of over 55s claim to understand basic internet jargon – like bandwidth, Wi-Fi, router and download – compared to 61% of 16-24s.
• Less than1% of Silver Surfers try to use Twitter as a search engine – unlike 7% of 25-34s
• Less than 1% of Silver Surfers have emailed their bank details to a friend – compared to a less respectable 3% of 25-34s
• Fewer than 1% of Silver Surfers try to use a normal screen like a touchscreen – unlike an embarrassing 7% of 24-34s
• Just 1% of Silver Surfers have tried to attach a dongle to their TV aerial – compared to a cringeworthy 8% of 25-34s. – The Plusnet Community blog
The blog also included this awesome infographic which demonstrates some of the ways that Silver Surfers are ‘cooler’ than their younger counterparts i.e. you and it really is a great visualization of how Silver Surfers are using the internet…
10 reasons why Grandpa is cooler than you
Tell us how your grandparents are cooler than you and how they use the web by commenting below or Tweeting us and even writing on our Facebook wall!
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April 25, 2012
Tech & Gadgets