Internet? Not Interested

The person I interviewed is a graduate of the class of '79. She only uses the Internet to do a few necessary tasks--to send emails to her daughter who is at university, to instant message when her daughter is online, and to buy items that she cannot find where she lives. Actually, her daughters are the ones who do the Internet shopping for her.

This individual has a working computer and Internet access at home. She admits that it is only because one of her daughters studied computer science in high school and begged her to purchase a computer. This is how she learned about the Internet. Since then, she has taken a few computer training courses and has an idea of how the Internet works.

When asked whether she thought she could ever get used to the Internet, her response was: "I guess I could, I have learned to email and use instant messenger, but I'm just not that interested."

Consequently, she does not use the Internet to assist with her work. She is very comfortable with using books to do her research then creating handwritten documents which her secretary types.

The interviewee is usually free at nights and on weekends but she occupies herself with reading books and newspapers, watching television, and visiting friends and relatives.