Abstract:

At the end of XIX century Russia was a country with young population. In 1959 the demographic aging started and by 2016 the population of over 60 years old would be over 20 percent in the country. What to do with this army of old people?

Traditionally elderly people in Russia helped their children to raise grandchildren, but in the last decade grown up children prefer to be more independent. A lot of pensioners continue to work, but unofficial discrimination in jobs restricts this possibility. Volunteer institute is underdeveloped in Russia. 64 percent of elderly Russians have a significant amount of free time.

Psychological problems connected with aging are quite known: lowering of self-esteem; a loss of self-respect; suicidal thoughts and feelings; fears, depression, lack of positive life perspective; approaching death experience; feeling of uselessness to the family, friends, job, country; loss of memory, misrecognition of familiar surroundings, loneliness, lack of communication due to the lack of left witnesses and collaborators of the past; lack of interest from the young to their experience; lack of interest and ineptitude towards modern technology & trends, and etc.

State social centers for elderly in St. Petersburg run computer courses for aged people to enable them to use e-mail, skype, photo-shop, get necessary information from the Internet etc. This practice brings positives results in increasing communication skills and self-esteem; getting positive attitudes and improving intergenerational interactions.

Keywords:

Aging, computer course, psychological problems.