By Eugene Ford

San Francisco

The Internet isn't only making waves in the lives of today's twenty- and thirty-something generations. SeniorNet is a nonprofit group that has given older Americans, 50 and over, the skills and incentives they need to surf the Net.

About 30,000 seniors now belong to this group, which was established in 1986 in San Francisco. It sprung from a research project funded by the Markle Foundation that investigated the ways in which computers and telecommunications can better the lives of older adults.

"Most people use to assume that older adults just weren't interested or didn't have the mental faculties to use computers," says Laura Fay, SeniorNet's development and public relations director. "But, not surprisingly, we found that if older people are placed in a supportive environment, they can be just as enthusiastic and as skilled with computers as anyone else."

This has proved to be the case for Lois Lippencott, a year-and-a-half participant in SeniorNet.

"To give seniors the chance to learn about computers opens up all sorts of new avenues for intellectual stimulation," Lippencott says. "The Internet, by allowing many seniors to keep in touch with friends and relatives, keeps many seniors feeling young."

SeniorNet began as a cluster of five learning centers in the Bay area, each of which held classes on basic computer use and graphics. Today, SeniorNet has established 140 learning centers in 30 states, often in existing municipal buildings. Many of these centers instruct the elderly on using personal finance programs, and on doing genealogy research on the Internet, in addition to teaching the basics.

Aside from technical instruction, SeniorNet also tries to serve as a forum through which its members can get to know each other.

"We have around 120,000 older adults from all over the world visit our Web site to hold discussions about a wide variety of topics, and many of our learning center classes function as social circles as well," says Fay.

But with its expanding membership, SeniorNet is having to accommodate a more varied range of interests. For example, the group had been developing a WWII discussion group that enables both veterans and civilian to post accounts of their memories of the war on the SeniorNet site.

"In the last couple of years, our membership has really exploded, and, as a result, we are always pioneering new things," Fay said.

Eugene Ford can be reached at
pj3@mindspring.com