With the internet constantly adapting and growing, and how it has completely changed the way we search for information, access news, media, entertainment and manage our 'social relationships', also the way it has completely changed most peoples purchasing of consumer items, clothes and groceries, I wonder what impact this will have on our brain's function and overall cognitive performance in the long term.
It offers us the ability to learn new skills, languages . Most of us do online games and quizzes like Wordle etc on a daily basis, which has to have a positive impact on cognitive function...even in my case
Wouldn't it be great to think that illnesses like Alzheimer's and Dementia will eventually disappear as result, particularly for the millenniums who seem to get most of their 'life' experiences via some form of technology or other. Then again, maybe this has got to be balanced alongside the fact that, spending so much time on your smartphone/computer cannot be good for overall wellbeing can it?
Society is changing a lot, people don't write letters like they used to (my sister & I still do).Computers are good for keeping in touch and buying goods esp if you can't get out much due to ill health etc.
It's not Victorian times any more is it. Spelling of some words have changed too. So there are both positives and negatives for the interent.
I saw just last week that they think more people have short sightedness due to looking at screens! I’m sure I’m one. I used to have fab vision, better than 20:20! Now need readers and distance glasses. Certainly think doing quizzes is a positive for keeping the brain active and love how I can find the answer or spelling of a word so easily. Remember dictionaries?
I am definitely not a technophobe, but I worry about how the current older generation are going to cope with so many things having to be done online - my FIL used to be very competent on the computer, however at 93 with (as yet undiagnosed, but we think he's got) the start of dementia he can no longer do things he used to, and so many authorities and Government departments point you to their websites for information and provide computerised forms rather than paper options.
I have had a lot of trouble with my ancient laptop (hence I've been absent for a bit) and have missed doing some of the crosswords & puzzles that I tend to do while half watching the tv. I can certainly believe the effect on eyesight though.
My dad could do a lot more on line than he does but he’s not interested.
I have 2 cousins in Canada who are completely off the grid. They don’t even have mobiles. They’re older than me but not much. They’re 2 sisters who live together still in their family home. They both had good jobs and are clearly not unintelligent.
At the moment my dad is in hospital and I have no way of letting them know. I don’t know their phone number but I do have their address. I was going to write to them but by the time they get a letter it looks like he’ll be out. They quite often phone him on a Sunday so hopefully that will be today and if they don’t get an answer they’ll phone me.
I know with some older people (my dad especially) they are really proud that none of their financial information is on line. My dad goes on about it all the time and so do my in laws. They’re quite happy to have me order stuff for them though.
Magggzzz sending best wishes that your Dad has a speedy recovery xx
One of my sisters probably has Dyslexia but it was never picked up - she manages great - a hairdresser who gets paid cash mostly. Doesn’t do internet banking or emails- she gets her husband to do an email if she needs to. She doesn’t have hobbies, likes magazines over books. I think she just wouldn’t use the computer at all if her hubby wasn’t there. She does use her mobile phone now for our WhatsApp family group but mostly we prefer to talk on the phone or meet in person. She has an awesome memory!
I love the internet, I always have. As long as you use your common sense you can avoid scams and trouble. I don't worry about having my card/bank details on either as I use paypal for the majority of purchases. Or my credit card for others, so you can easily get your money back if theres a problem.
I think in all the years I have used it, my memory has grown, it's being used far more than before. To explain.. the amount of information you can garner over anything you want and read thoroughly in just one day is incredible, on all topics. I remember so much about new topics that I would have had to go to the library and find a book on it beforehand.
My mum has made so many bad comments about the internet, and wanting to stay in the "good old days", although she's never actually used it herself, she just didn't want anything to change. Personally I think it has something to do with pride and not the elder person who knows everything, finding it hard to acknowledge that younger people can know far more than herself, things that she just doesn't understand. She says she hates it but loves the fact I can order all her shopping to her door every week and she can purchase a gift or item she wants one day and she has it in her hands the next.
I've just been away for the weekend, booked on line, checked in on line, booked my activities on line and everything else I wanted while there, used contactless payment.
I think in the not too distant future, they will be using microchips embedded in the brain to help with dementia and similar.
There is a lot to be said for being part of a group, and the support and friendship that is gained from this.
I’m so glad that I went to lessons years ago, I would be proper done up like a kipper if I hadn’t, often the problem with older folk is that one of them does all the internet stuff and then if they pass away the one left is in the s**t, and I have heard quite a few lately that this has happened to.
I also think that there should be plenty of empathy for anyone who just doesn’t have the skills for whatever reason, take DVLA for example, a friend who doesn’t do internet recently had a nightmare with them because he hasn’t got a computer and wanted to speak about a query, they were incredibly unhelpful and insisted he go online, he had to ask his daughter to help.
Am wondering if there are people who spend so much time on this www they sit there in front of the monitor for hours & hours with a blank expression and wide open lifeless eyes ? No sleeping no eating no socializing only glaring at the screen .
Yup Moi, there are plenty of peeps who use a computer all day in their jobs, it's not just the screen time though, the actual sitting for prolonged periods is bad for your general health, you have to move about enough during the day to enable the body to work efficiently in many aspects.
My nephew literally does gaming all day and he's not a little kid either...least said I think
There is a lot to be said for being part of a group, and the support and friendship that is gained from this.
I had to start using a computer professionally on a daily basis and in front of clients from the late 80s, and had to attend regular IT courses, and boy am I glad that I had to do that now.
I do spend a lot of time on my computer, I read using my kindle and I update my smartphone every 18 months, although I don't believe in having my phone attached to me like another appendage.
Life in general has moved more and more online during the pandemic, and for many of the older generation who were bought up in a largely analog era, it is a constant struggle to get to grips with apps, zoom, gadgets and the internet, making their enforced isolation even worse.
We've been using it ever since it first took off, since you had to wait half an hour for a page to load, so we've kind of grown up with it the same time as the kids.
My mum then and still now is perfectly capable mentally, she just took a stance on it and decided it would never be a big thing and wouldn't be needed long term. The way things have gone though she's found her refusal has caused me so much extra work. Just one example.. she wants me to transfer money to family because I have online banking, so I have to use my money to do this, then travel to hers (which isn't round the corner) collect the cash, then go to a bank to reimburse myself, just one small example. Same applies when she wants to purchase something from online.
She's really happy for me to use the computer on her behalf for anything she wants, then poo poos it as unnecessary in life
There is a lot to be said for being part of a group, and the support and friendship that is gained from this.
I’d be lost without my iPad. It’s my lifeline! So far today, I’ve read/scanned/glanced at The Times Attempted the concise crossword in The Times. Checked on a top that has been out of stock in a shop here. (off shortly to try it on) FaceTimed with a friend in Cheshire. Checked my emails. Checked up on you lot!
I’m similar to you LL, would be lost without my iPad Check my emails Check on Instagram Send emails And my favourite, same as LL, check up on you lot 🙄
My OH had the same attitude as your Mum B, computers are a waste of time and waste of space, unless he needed something done online, and then muggins had to spend time sorting out whatever he needed ……………. immediately 🙁
Its a funny attitude isn't it Jazzy, it's like I don't agree with all this technology but I'll get someone else to use it on my behalf, then I can still say I don't agree with it/or use it
There is a lot to be said for being part of a group, and the support and friendship that is gained from this.