http://www.mychumsclub.comVintageVintage

 One of our directors Brian Muirhead is interviewed by Faith Glasgow about why he became a founder director of MyChumsClub. You can read the full article in our Life section...

FG: You clearly rely heavily on email and the internet for work, but how do you think babyboomers in general are likely to view the idea of using the internet for social networking? Isn’t the idea a young people’s thing?

BM:  Older people are under a lot of pressure from younger people to adopt the technological tools and opportunities that they use. In part it’s about our willingness to learn by example, and in part it’s a nagging pressure from them – ‘Why don’t you get broadband, why don’t you get onto Facebook?’ That’s where I think MCC fits in, as a website where it’s possible actually to meet like minds.

Of course, babyboomers are likely to be used to working with computers, but they don’t necessarily realise just how much else they can do with them. But that’s changing – and there’s more and more potential for social networking and sharing interests in a virtual world.

FG: Is there a need for the kind of support system that sites like MCC aim to supply?

BM: Many people in their mid-50s or getting on for 60 who are coming out of work are accustomed to a dramatic pace of activity and a lot of change, very different from the job-for-lifers of 20 years ago. I do think that when you go from that working lifestyle to just not working – as has happened to me several times between jobs – it can be very stressful, and there is a process of adaptation involved. The computer is a real comfort factor in that respect – it provides a way to switch back in and explore interesting things, and emails make you feel you’re in contact with the wider world