Mature Surfer

When personal computers first began to find a niche in our society a few decades ago, many people labeled them as a fad that would go the way of the Rubik’s Cube or the pet rock. Well, many of those that labeled P.C.’s a fad are now mature adults and have recognized the benefits of computers and the Internet. The number of older adults and seniors that are online has increased significantly since 2000. For those adults who have yet to or are in the process of becoming comfortable using computers, there are a few things that you can do to shorten the learning curve.
Without a doubt, learning the terminology and jargon of technology is one of the first things that you should do. Think of it like traveling to a foreign country, it is always a good idea to have a few staple phrases that can help make your visit more enjoyable. You don’t need to be able to have an in-depth conversation with your favorite tech support helpdesk, just enough to know where to locate things. If you are not yet surfing the net, your local library is an excellent place to locate books that can familiarize you with the basic words and concepts. If you are able to navigate online, then I suggest going to webopedia.com whenever you come across a word or terminology that you are unfamiliar with, but feel that you may need to know.
Once you have had your fill of technology talk, you begin customizing your web browsers. Some websites like to use font so small that you almost feel as though they are telling you a secret. A way to combat small font is to change the size of the font in your web browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, you can change the size of the font on the websites that you visit by looking in the top left hand corner of the web browser and clicking View. Select Text Size from the menu that appears. Next choose the Largest option. If you are using Mozilla Firefox, then you choose View and Text Size in the same manner as you would with Internet Explorer. The difference comes in that Firefox allows you to increase or decrease the font size instead of choosing the largest or smallest sizes available. Needless to say, you increase the font size until you find what’s comfortable for you.
I’m not normally a big fan of AOL, but I must admit that it’s website and web services are designed very senior friendly. They do a lot of the heavy lifting for you so that many of the popular Internet features are bundled together and setup for you.
For the absolute beginner or the self-taught that want to boost their degree of computer/Internet literacy, I would suggest taking a class. Courses are offered everywhere from Pima Community College to the YMCA. Some courses are even designed specifically for older adults.