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Gray Surfers. "I don't do lawn bowling," says Helen Karjala, 88, commenting on her new favorite hobby -- web surfing -- as reported by Katie Hafner in The New York Times. In fact, Helen not only goes online each day to email her grandchildren and look up interesting information, she set up the darn computer herself! "I started investigating the wires and the prongs and I thought, 'I can do this' ... Of course, I needed a magnifying glass," she adds. You don't need to put on your glasses, though, to see the extent to which older folks are letting their geek flags fly: "According to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, pewinternet.org ... the ranks of Americans over 65 who use the Internet have jumped by 47 percent since 2000, making them the fastest-growing group to embrace the online world."
In many cases, the older set is being encouraged by younger friends and family. They are also finding their comfort level with hyperlinks and doubleclicks at retirement community computer clubs, such as the one at Rossmoor, in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, a non-profit group called Generations on Line, generationsonline.com, actually has created "special software geared toward the elderly" that's designed to help them get past the scary parts. "The first thing they worry about is that they'll break the machine," says Tobey Dichter, ceo of Generations On Line. Elaborates Tom Tullis of Fidelity Investments in Boston: "People over 65 grew up in more of a mechanical world and if you do something wrong things break and they can't be undone."
Once they find out just how forgiving (ha!) computers can be, seniors often are delighted by the many websites catering to their interests. Many of these are hosted by the government, such as aoa.dhhs.gov, while others are found at general sites, such as dir.yahoo.com/health/senior_health. Perhaps most interesting, a survey of 16,000 online searches by older Americans conducted by Generations On Line revealed that most were not illness- or disease-related. The top topics: travel, history, hobbies and genealogy. Says Tobey Dichter: "It's a source of pleasure to be able to research things from the past, and they also look up hometowns and read newspapers from other languages." And for Helen Karjala, who likes to play solitaire on her computer, it sure beats the heck out of lawn bowling. You can download a pdf of the Pew Study on Older Americans and the Internet here: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Seniors_Online_2004.pdf
Rock'n'Roll Multiplex. So, now you have a choice. You can fork over $49.50 for a nosebleed seat to see Prince live at Staples Arena in L.A., or you can splurge a big fifteen bucks to see the same concert simulcast live at any of 40 Regal Cinema movie theaters, reports Eleena De Lisser in The Wall Street Journal. "Obviously, you always prefer to see a group live," comments Alan Skversky, "who recently watched a simulcast Yes concert with his nine-year-old son at a Regal Cinema in Emeryville, California. But, he said, this was the next best thing -- some in the audience showed up in Yes T-shirts, danced in the aisles. "After every song everybody just erupted," says Alan.
That's music to the ears of Regal Cinemas, regalcm.com, which having invested some $74 million over the past three years in spectacular, digital sound systems and stadium-style seating across its 5,300 screens, is now decided its "in the business of entertaining, not just screening movies." They have to be, because where movies are concerned, "admissions fell four percent in 2003, and box-office sales fell by just under one percent, to $9.5 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of America." This "emerging marriage of convenience between theater operators with lots of empty seats on weeknights and the troubled record companies, which are grappling for ways to reach new audiences" will play out in the days ahead with "one-night-only broadcasts of performances by top acts like Linkin Park, Beyonce and Gloria Estafan."
In some cases, the events are nearly pure-play promotions. Regal last month played host to a live appearance by former Depeche Mode singer David Gahan to promote his new DVD, "Live Monsters," featuring DVD footage on a 40-foot screen. Said one smitten attendee: "Seeing him so close had something dreamy about it." Other theaters, meanwhile, have been exploring multiplex ways to attract more people with wallets -- everything from installing loveseats to serving alcohol. One of the more interesting concepts is that of the Alamo Drafthouse, drafthouse.com, in Texas, "a nine-theater chain" where patrons "can enjoy a beer and fish-and-chips while watching new movies like 50 First Dates and Starsky & Hutch." The setup apparently is particularly attractive to young parents, who can have dinner and a movie all in one shot, spending less time away from baby, less money on a sitter -- and, of course, leaving more money at the theater.
Tim Manners, editor
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