In your home community how prominent you think are ageist stereotypes about older adults’ capacity to learn how to use computers?
Forum Post 1
Ageist stereotypes about older adults’ capacity to learn how to use computers exist to some extent in Tajikistan. There were no special computer courses for the elderly before Coronovirus. Only recently a new course on using a mobile phone has been offered to the retired people. I think that with age the ability to earn money by elderly people plummets, and society views elderly people as burden. There are no projects in my country which would invest into computer literacy of elderly people. If for example, a family has a choice to invest into a computer course for a child/student or a grandparent, the younger generations will get this opportunity by all means. Additionally, sellers of mobile phones or computers do not target their production specifically for aging population. With age people see poorly, their hearing gets weaker, and fingers have arthritis. However, retired people are not profitable for such companies; they cannot afford an expensive smartphone.
Nevertheless, I must say that in most cases people in Tajikistan would be willing to help their retired relatives with the phone, Viber app (instant messager) or an email.