Some U.S. residents ages 80 and older are "cyber shut-ins," but plenty are plugged in.
Analysts at the Stanford Center on Longevity have published data on older Americans' use of social technology in a summary of results from a survey conducted by Kelton and sponsored by Brookdale Senior Living, a long-term care (LTC) facility operator.
The survey team contacted 445 U.S. adults ages 80 and older via telephone and online systems. The participants had no obvious cognitive impairment; all could correctly report the current year, month and day of week of the interview.
Sixteen percent of the participants use text messaging systems, and 35 percent use a personal computer at least once a month. Sixty-one percent use cell phones.