Gaming grans make a play for online opportunities

Published on Monday 19 July 2010 18:52

WE'VE already had the silver-surfers, now it's the turn of the grey gamers.

A new generation of web users are dipping their toes into a world generally regarded as the preserve of adolescents, by logging on to online games.

Thanks to a 100,000 grant, one Edinburgh charity is offering pensioners not just courses in internet basics such as browsing and e-mail but also equipping them with the skills to play computer games.

One of the first to complete a pilot course is 81-year-old Anne Cummings. Her favourite game is Farmville, which she says she now enjoys playing online with her grandchildren.

"Most of my family play it too so we play it together," she said. "It's basically a farm where you buy crops, sow them and sell them on. It sounds childish but it's a lot of fun. I never thought I would enjoy it so much."

Anne added that she "felt like a dinosaur" watching her grandchildren manipulating her computer with ease, prompting her to enrol in the course.

"It was about games, which is great because it gives you another option," she said. "You get fed up just staring at the TV."

Champion of this latest wave of gamers, is 73-year-old Mamie Donald, who aged 60 completed a computer studies course at university.

She applied for the grant from The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts' Age Unlimited Scotland, having set up her own organisation called Third Age Fun and Games with the aim of tackling social isolation among the elderly.

"I'm mad on computers and always have been," said Mamie. "So having the chance to develop my idea will enable those of my generation for whom computers are a no-go area to learn just how they can enrich their lives."

Unwanted computers are donated to the charity and then set up in the homes of elderly people. They then learn how to use it with four free lessons.

"I have had a Second World War fighter pilot become really excited by simulation flight games because it is so accurate," said Mamie. "But for others there is online Scrabble, solitaire and cards. It can be a very social thing and allow them to make friends with people from all over the world."

A spokesperson for AgeScotland praised the initiative, saying: "As with any other age group older people can enjoy the mental stimulation and social interaction activities such as online gaming offer."