Wired Wisdom: How to Age Better Online

by Eszter Hargittai, John Palfrey Narrated by Auto-narrated

Overview

A surprising window into the online lives of people sixty and over-offering essential insights, no matter your age.

Many popular accounts say the older you are, the greater your tech struggles. And it's worrying to think of loved ones emailing cringe-worthy misinformation, falling for phishing attacks, or becoming lonelier with increasing time spent online.

But in their eye-opening book on the internet's fastest-growing demographic, researchers Eszter Hargittai and John Palfrey offer a more nuanced picture-debunking common myths about older adults' internet use to offer hope and a necessary call to action. Incorporating original interviews and survey results from thousands of people sixty and over, Wired Wisdom shows that many, in fact, use technology in ways that put younger peers to shame. Over-sixties are often nimble online and quicker to abandon social media platforms that don't meet their needs. Despite being targeted more often, they also may be less likely to fall for scams than younger peers. And fake news actually fools fewer people over sixty, who have far more experience evaluating sources and detecting propaganda. Still, there are unseen risks and missed opportunities for this group. Hargittai and Palfrey offer practical advice and show that our stereotypes can be hurdles that keep us from building intergenerational support communities, helping loved ones adopt new technology that may improve their lives, and thriving together online.

Editorial Reviews

coauthor of Human-Centered Data Science Gina Neff

This is a useful, practical, and urgently needed book. As someone who regularly interacts with a large community of online elders, I can imagine this book will validate their lived experiences.

author of The Fifth Estate William Dutton

Wired Wisdom is an important, accessible book that should be read by anyone with an interest in the internet, social media, and emerging digital technologies.

Newcity

"Wired Wisdom [looks] at the real differences between older and younger people in their use of digital technology, the attitudes that underlie those differences, and—where older folks do lag in adoption—what can be done to help. . . . Hargittai and Palfrey do an excellent job of making academic research relevant and useful to a general audience."

author of A Synthesizing Mind Howard Gardner

At last we have the book about mastering the digital world that has long been needed. Whether you are fifty or one hundred, you’ll benefit enormously from reading Wired Wisdom.

author of It's Complicated danah boyd

By shining a light on the challenges and opportunities that older people experience in our digital world, Hargittai and Palfrey invite all of us to be more thoughtful about how we support the online lives of those whose years on this earth surpass ours.

University of Cambridge Gina Neff

This is a useful, practical, and urgently needed book. As someone who regularly interacts with a large community of online elders, I can imagine this book will validate their lived experience.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940194977598
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	08/08/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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