The Internet as a Medium for Increasing Social Inclusion: Does the Virtual Learning Process Support Theories of "Successful Ageing"?

A number of important questions about the older learner and the Internet need to be answered to ensure that programs are developed that are best suited to the special needs and interests of the growing population of older on-line learners. This paper adds to an initial report involving e-mail interviews with a group of nine older people from three countries. The initial study used a retroductive strategy to discover some underlying issues related to older people and on-line learning. Participants were asked to respond to a number of open questions and statements presented to them at about 3-week intervals. Text analysis was used to specify the major ways in which eight of these participants wrote about the Internet. The initial study found that these on-line learners focused on positive Internet interactions related to personal, social, and study activities rather than on ageing per se, consistent with that component of Rowe and Kahn's model indicating successful agers keep their minds active. In a follow-up study, nine participants were asked five follow-up questions with the aim of further examining the relevance of the Rowe and Kahn model. The present paper discusses the result of follow-up analyses based on the responses to all eleven questions. Successful ageing The global population is ageing at an unprecedented rate, a fact attributable to a combination of lowered fertility and improved health and longevity. After the year 2010, the numbers and proportion of older people, especially the oldest old aged 80 years and older will rise rapidly in developed and many developing countries (Kinsella & Velkoff, 2001). The global trend towards increased life expectancy suggests that preventative rather than remedial interventions must become the major goal for addressing myriad social and economic challenges that accompany population ageing. Friedrich (2003) summarised findings from a number of large studies that promote the notion of integration of physical, psychological, and social domains for developing optimum solutions for ageing-related issues