Use of the Internet by seniors as a communication technology may lead to changes in older adult social relationships. This study used an online questionnaire to survey 222 Australians over 55 years of age on Internet use. Respondents primarily used the Internet for communication, seeking information, and commercial purposes. The results showed negative correlations between loneliness and well-being. Multiple regression analyses revealed that greater use of the Internet as a communication tool was associated with a lower level of social loneliness. In contrast, greater use of the Internet to find new people was associated with a higher level of emotional loneliness.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the empirical support for the use of assistive technology in the care of people with dementia as an intervention to improve independence, safety, communication, wellbeing and carer support. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 232 papers were identified as potentially relevant. Inclusion criteria were: studies published between 1995 and 2011, incorporated a control group, pre-test-post-test, cross sectional or survey design, type of interventions and types of participants. The 41 papers that met criteria were subjected to an assessment of their validity using the model provided by Forbes. Following the assessment seven papers were considered as strong, ten moderate and 24 weak. The review is presented around the following topics: independence, prompts and reminders; safety and security; leisure and lifestyle, communication and telehealth; and therapeutic interventions. Findings – The literature exploring the use of assistive technologies for increasing independence and compensating for memory problems illustrate the problems of moving from the laboratory to real life. The studies are usually limited by very small samples, high drop-out rates, very basic statistical analyses and lack of adjustment for multiple comparisons and poor performance of the technology itself. Originality/value – Research to date has been unable to establish a positive difference to the lives of people with dementia by the general use of the assistive technology reviewed here.

Although it is increasingly obvious that the Internet is changing human life; the details of this change are not yet clear. A major debate in current literature involves the capacity of the Internet to enhance social capital and wellbeing in old age. In this regard, the present study attempts to investigate the relationships between Internet use and older people's social capital and wellbeing. An online survey was conducted at the University of Sydney. 222 seniors responded to the survey. The measures used included a wide range of instruments related to the Internet use, social capital and wellbeing. Respondents used the Internet for various purposes, including seeking information, entertainment, commerce, communication, and finding new people. The main findings of the study were that the relationships between Internet use, social capital and wellbeing is a complex construct and the Internet has different effects on social capital and wellbeing resulting from different use of this technology. The study results revealed that the Internet is a 2-edged sword with the ability to both harm and help. According to the findings of this study, using the Internet can be helpful for older adults if they are aware how they use it.