DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA
2 edits | Throw out some fliers
I think it will be the elderly who are the most befuddled by the DTV switch.
AARP could be a big help with education. Also throw in fliers in Medicare/caid mailers. A year of that and the word will be out. Plus as the deadline approaches we'll certainly see more mainstream press about it.
And yeah, the providers have already taken care of the transition by offering horribly over-compressed crap channels full of motion artifacts starting at only $50/mo plus junk fees for 1 TV. |
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john262
join:2003-09-26
Elko, NV | To say that the elderly will be "the most befuddled by the DTV switch" is ageism at it's worst. The elderly are just as intelligent as anyone else. |
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DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA
1 edit | Calling the obvious ageism is naivete' at it's worse.
And no, when it comes to ATSC, they aren't just as intelligent as anyone else. |
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jjeffeory
join:2002-12-04
USA | reply to john262
They're not always the most connect to currently technology either. That's not their thing. It's okay, I don't think it is ageism. |
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Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC
| My parents had a 30 year old yellow phone that they had been renting up to two years ago. They simply didn't know you could buy your own. They also still have rotary service because they won't pay to upgrade to touch tone. I think the phone company just switched them any ways and didn't charge a monthly fee. LOL. |
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Qumahlin
Never Enough Time
Premium,MVM
join:2001-10-05
united state
| reply to john262
said by john262  :To say that the elderly will be "the most befuddled by the DTV switch" is ageism at it's worst. The elderly are just as intelligent as anyone else. No, the elderly can be just as intelligent as everyone else, but when you add in the various ailments, memory problems, behavioral patters (as most people get older they become set in their ways), it's not ageism to state they are the ones most likely to be confused and surprised by this upcoming change.
Most elderly people I know have not yet upgraded, or felt the need to upgrade to digital cable. I promise you if I ask them right now what they plan to do when the DTV deadline comes around they would simply stare at me like I was speaking an alien language.
Do I know some tech saavy elderly people? Yes, hell my 79 year old grandfather replaced his processor, heatsink, and ram without any help from me a month or so ago; however that is simply not the norm.
To call this ageism would be like calling me a sexist if I said men typically make more then women.
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Forum Posts:7500 |
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jmallory
join:2005-11-02
Clawson, MI
| reply to DotMac4
said by DotMac4 :Calling the obvious ageism is naivete' at it's worse. And no, when it comes to ATSC, they aren't just as intelligent as anyone else. Yes they are. I have ran into some younger people who are just as clueless. |
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bobc2112
join:2004-01-04
Middletown, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS Digit..
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Vonage
| reply to DotMac4
You can fix this whole mess with two words. "Wilfred Brimley". Starting in June of 08 have 'ol Wilfred flood the airwaves with PSA's. I am sure every old person in the US will perk right up and listen to what he has to say!
That and also force the cable companies to run their own PSA's on their systems alerting the public as to what they will need to continue viewing (nothing maybe with cables existing infrastructure, or if it changes explain it).
I thinks it's a good thing that they haven't done too much to this point. |
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qworster
join:2001-11-25
Los Angeles, CA
 ·DSL EXTREME
·Brand X Internet
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Vonage
4 edits | reply to Corehhi
said by Corehhi :My parents had a 30 year old yellow phone that they had been renting up to two years ago. They simply didn't know you could buy your own. They also still have rotary service because they won't pay to upgrade to touch tone. I think the phone company just switched them any ways and didn't charge a monthly fee. LOL. Actually, the paradox here is that dial pulse service actually uses more central office resources then touch tone service does. See, most of the effort is involved in completing the call. A piece of equipment called a dialer is used to complete the call, but once the call is connected the dialer drops off and is available for completing someone else's call. There are only so many dialers in a central office. However, once the call is completed, the resources necessary to keep it connected are almost zero.
Pulse dialing takes longer then touch tone dialing, hence the dialer is connected to the telephone longer-which means that it's not available to be used to complete another call.
When touch tone service became widely used, telcos were actually able to use less dialers in each phone office.
So, the telcos were actually charging you extra for something that benefitted them for you to have. |
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dtpetty
Premium
join:2005-04-04
San Diego, CA
·DSL EXTREME
| reply to john262
said by john262 :To say that the elderly will be "the most befuddled by the DTV switch" is ageism at it's worst. The elderly are just as intelligent as anyone else. We are not talking intelligence here, It is about awareness. My dad will be 90 this year, and is perfectly coherent and very intelligent. But, I will guarantee if I asked him he would not remember the transition date, or what exactly it means for him. I think outreach to seniors will be very helpful. |
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