By Alan Hamilton
LONDON (The Times), October 31, 2007:
Good news for oldies. We now have our own social networking website. There is, however, a problem.
The grey generation is famously incapable of dealing with computer technology, and frequently has to call in an expert under 8 years old to log in to the internet, or even to deal with an incoming call on a mobile phone.
But if we can surmount the Himalayan task of pressing the right buttons, we are promised a rosy old age of exchanging personal profiles, and possibly even intimate details, with fellow-grandparents who are intimidated by Facebook and other social websites because they are dominated by the IT-literate and socially unrepressed young.
Actually, figures suggest that this is a squinted picture and that the not-so-young are avid users of the internet.
Statistics issued by Ofcom, the communications regulator, in August suggest that so-called silver surfers are devotees of the computer screen. About 16 per cent of over-65s, it was reported, use the internet, and the over-50s account for nearly one third of the total time spent on the internet in Britain.
The over-50s should be old enough to remember the Stone Age skills of letter-writing, telephoning, and going out and about to make physical face-to-face contact with real people. They belong to a generation that did not spend its entire youth shut in its bedroom with only one of Sir Clive Sinclair’s first-generation personal home computers for company. But time moves on. When Saga, the travel-to-insurance company that specialises in serving those over the first flush of youth, launched a trial run of its Saga Zone website four months ago, about 13,000 people signed up.
Yesterday the site had its full national launch. On it, those over their half-century can find forums on subjects ranging from gardening to relationship advice. They can enter their personal profiles and hope that a like-minded mature citizen will respond. What the site clearly trades on is that maturity is not in every case the handmaiden of contentment. Contact with the outside world is a necessity at every stage of life, and romance does not necessarily die with the sprouting of the first grey hair.
Andrew Goodsell, the group chief executive of Saga, said yesterday: "The internet is a place where the over 50s are thriving. Saga Zone is a place where they can mingle and chat about issues important to them, be they amusing or serious."
Already, the Saga Zone website has signed up an 87-year-old. A poll of more than 15,000 people aged over 50 in the United Kingdom showed that the so-called grey pound was a significant driving force in the online economy. Nearly three quarters of respondents had bought flights online, a similar number had bought books, and two thirds had bought electrical items.
The launch of Saga Zone has immediately spawned imitators that claim superiority. MyChumsClub, a subscription-only website for the over-50s, claims that it offers expert content from subjects as varied as fashion, health, motorcycling and Buddhist spiritualism. A spokesman said: "We can also guarantee that all our subscribers are genuinely over 50." Which suggests that those who post their details on the Saga Zone website might possibly lie about their age. Surely the silver generation of the third age would never do a thing like that.
Andrew Thatcher, who launched MyChumsClub, said: "The subscription model of our club suits our market of professionals who are close to retirement age. When baby-boomers retire from an active professional life they lose their work social network. We aim to help them over this transition point."
Many users of the Saga Zone are likely to still be working. But if you’re looking for a new partner it’s best not to leave it until it’s too late. Instead of relying on the internet, however, it might be better to grasp the nettle, book a Saga holiday and see who you meet face to face.
Never too old to surf
* 50% of over-55s have access to the web
* 7% look for love online
* 22% play games such as bingo
* 43% regularly buy and sell on eBay
Sources: Times database, ONS, Ofcom
© Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd.
