Comments on: BABY BOOMERS THAT DON’T ADAPT WILL BE LEFT BEHIND

By: FG

FG — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:00:48 +0000

I must say that your article describes my experience perfectly. I am a freelance web developer who specializes in small business websites and, as such, have a great deal of interaction with “Boomer” age people who need to deal with technology. I have found that the vast majority of clients from that age group are not only seriously deficient in the most basic usage of computers (to say nothing of the Internet or — God forbid –social media), they have no interest in investing the time and effort to learn these things. But they definitely want whatever benefits the technology can provide.

A Boomer myself (54 years old), I began using the Internet in the early nineties and kept myself updated through a great deal of effort. I wasn’t always a web developer. That iteration of me appeared when my previous career evaporated in the recession. I’m no genius (just ask my wife), anyone can learn these things and vast (and often free) resources to assist in the learning process are ubiquitous — online and off.

By: DayJobNuker

DayJobNuker — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:04:34 +0000

Thanks for all the great content Denise. Boomers have been hit hard but unfortunately many of them never bothered to save. It’s a shame and now everyone is looking to a bankrupt government to help them out. We are in big trouble I fear.

By: Denise

Denise — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:36:07 +0000

You hit the nail on the head, almost!
I am a baby boomer and have been working on the internet since 1999. My husband and I got our first computer in 1992. The internet was a different animal then.
We worked and planned for our retirement and lost it all a little over a year ago. Thank you Bernie! Shortly after my husband lost his job. Nice!
Even though my husband is an engineer with pretty impressive credentials, he can’t get hired. We have no choice but to become business owners. We need to create our future for ourselves instead of looking to an employer.
Thankfully I have my foot into a few self built businesses online already. Now I just need to ramp up my income from these sites to replace my husbands income plus grow enough income to be able to have investments to live on for our future.
With my husbands job he had to live with tunnel vision on his career. I am trying to bring him up to speed on making money on the internet, but there is a learning curve. This business is not something you can just walk into and make money without knowing what you are doing.
This recession has hit many hard and the baby boomers have been hit extremely hard. Those that are able to keep their employment have taken a huge hit in their investments. Most everyone I know has been hit HARD.
My husband and I were looking to retire in five years. Now it looks like we will never retire. And we are not alone. This is going to be a drain on society all around. Boomers will not retire now for sure, making way for younger people to fill their spots.
I am just so grateful that the internet doesn’t have age discrimination. This is our only hope.