Seniors Online – Tools and Resources for Users Over 50
Seniors are increasingly becoming citizens of the web, and many of my new clients in South Philly are getting online in their golden years . Baby Boomers and older generations tend to use the Internet almost exclusively as a tool for researching information and e-mail, whereas younger generations focus equal attention on the Social Networking aspects of the Web.
I have seen everything from grandmother’s looking to connect with their grandchildren in the digital age through Facebook.com, to disabled elderly interested in learning more about their medication cocktails and drug interactions online. My own grandfather used to avoid visits to the doctor’s office in anyway possible, and would often go online to sanity check his symptoms before finally agreeing to see a doctor.
That said, many clients have asked me over the years for helpful resources that are “Senior Citizen Friendly.” Listed below are some sites that I have found to be helpful resources for my clients over 50. Most are universal, though a few are specific to South Philadelphia.
Health and Wellness Links:
Drugs.com is a terrific resource to learn about any prescription drugs on your docket, but if you are managing several meds at the same time, check out the Drug Interaction Checker.
The Mayo Clinic is an exceptionally detailed resource for learning about medical diagnosis and treatment, and if you are feeling some aches, check out the Symptom Checker.
Finding a good doctor can be difficult, unless you use Vitals.com. This site’s Doctor Finder allows you to specify the type of doctor you seek and filter the results by location of eduction (US or Abroad), positive reviews from patients, and more.
Elderly, Disabled, and Special Needs Links:
PCACares.org is the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging and they focus their efforts on improving the quality of life for older Philadelphians. This site is an amazing resource for learning about life as a Senior with information on activities, local services, health tips, and more.
Meals on Wheels Association of America helps seniors without the means get the meals they need to keep on keepin’ on. If you or a loved one needs help, check out Meal Call to find the nearest Meals on Wheels provider near you.
The National Family Caregivers Association has information and resources for those providing care for loved ones. If you are caring for a loved one, or need some help finding care, this is a great place to empower yourself.
Finance and Investment Links:
Morningstar is a leader in independent investment research, and analysis of stocks and mutual funds.
SmartMoney proves a great source to keep up to date on the trends in the stock market with great interactive graphs and up-to-date information.
Google has spread from a powerful search engine into almost every facet of on-line life, and Google Finance is a great resource to follow your portfolio and get all sorts of information about private and public companies.
Spirituality and Religious Links:
Gospel.com is the focal point online for hundreds of Christian ministries. They also display the “Verse of the Day” on the homepage powered by BibleGateway.com, a full-text searchable bible online.
Torah.org is an excellent resource for Judaism on the net. They also have a very active discussion forum and an “Ask the Rabbi” feature.
There are 195 countries in the world, and almost as many religious belief systems. ReligiousTolerance.org aims to acurately describe each belief system and promotes tolerance of other’s beliefs.
E-mail and Social Links:
GMAIL is a very popular and easy to use e-mail tool created by the brilliant minds at Google. If you are interested in communicating with your friends and family via e-mail, I highly recommend their free mail service.
Facebook.com is an ever growing social network, and a great way to connect with friends and mebmers of your family both young and old.
Senior Friend Finder is a spin-off of FriendFinder.com which provides an easy way for like-minded seniors seeking a companion to connect on-line and in person.
There are many more sites and services out there to meet your specific needs, as the Internet is a very big world to explore, but this list is designed to be a helpful starting point.
