The Internet: Why Seniors Need the Internet More Than Anyone - by Ben Kassoy

Baddie Winkle isn't wearing any pants. But she does have on a giant T-shirt tessellated with images of Queen Bey.

"I nominate Beyoncé for the ice bucket challenge!" the 86-year-old proclaims, dumping a cauldron of frigid water over her head.

Since tweeting this Vine video Aug. 31, it's been retweeted over 1,300 times. No big deal for the badass grandma, who regularly posts hilarious, irreverent, and pop culture-driven material to her 254,000 Twitter followers and nearly 410,000 followers on Instagram.

And while Baddie's cyber stardom keep us rollicking, Internet use can have serious health benefits for people her age. Depression and chronic pain affect more than 6.5 million Americans 65 and older, and research shows that knowing how to use smartphones, music streaming sites and, yes, social media can offer relief.

Thing is, 40 percent of older adults don't touch the Internet at all. And 66 percent of those say they'd need help getting started. If only there were tons of tech experts who have a lot of time on their hands and, for whatever reason, love seniors. But where would we find these kind of people? Hmmm...

"I now know from experience that teaching some of my elders technology is going to change their lives," wrote Megan, a student who showed her grandfathers, grandmothers, and three other local seniors some of the basics. "Ever since my grandmother passed away last year, my family and I have noticed a little bit of depression seeping into my grandfather's life. My grandfather has no one to visit with and is often alone for weeks because no one has time to sit and talk with him. When I showed him the basic rules of a Gmail email account, he was very enthusiastic about the idea of having someone to write to."

Yep, young people, who tweet and Instagram, like, 27 hours a day are technology whizzes from birth who -- surprise! -- adore their grandparents. This holiday season, for the third consecutive year, DoSomething.org's Grandparents Gone Wired campaign will activate thousands of 13- to 25-year-olds to plug their grandparents or other local seniors into social media, smartphone apps, and email. One of last year's participants, Madeline, taught her grandma how to video chat.
 Read more: Why Seniors Need the Internet More Than Anyone | Ben Kassoy

Netherlands: Senior Citizens turning to the Internet:: Rapid increase internet usage among older people

The share of 65 to 75-year-olds in the Netherlands active on the internet has more than doubled since 2005. Internet usage in the Netherlands in this age category is among the highest in the EU. More and more older people use the internet to access online calling, shopping and banking services.

In 2013, eight in ten 65 to 75-year-olds reported to access the internet occasionally, more than twice as many as in 2005. The number of people indicating to have accessed the internet recently (during the past three months) has risen proportionately. More than half (55 percent) of 65 to 75-year-olds access the internet almost every day, nearly four times as many as in 2005, when only 15 percent in this age group were regularly online. With 87 percent, the share of 12 to 65-year-old daily internet users is still significantly higher. 

In 2012 - the most recent year for which European figures are available - 74 percent of Dutch individuals aged between 65 and 75 indicated they had accessed the internet at least once. This share is nearly twice as high as the EU average. Together with Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark, the Netherlands ranks high on the list representing internet usage among older people. In other Western-European countries like Germany, Belgium and France, the number of older people with internet experience is much lower.

Since 2012, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) also interviews people in the highest age category (75 years and older). Internet usage in this group is significantly lower than among 65 to 75year-olds. This year, 39 percent of over-75s reported they had accessed the internet occasionally and 20 percent were online every day. The corresponding rates for 2012 are 34 and 16 percent respectively.  

 Read more: CBS - Statistics Netherlands : Rapid increase internet usage among older people