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The notion that most old people fear technology is fast becoming an outmoded one, as recent figures reveal that more than half of Britons aged over 50 have access to the internet. Of those, one in five regularly access emails, and use instant messaging, internet phones and social networks to keep in touch with family and friends; figures that match the rest of the population.

Over-50s, or 'silver surfers' as they are known, spend almost 205 billion a year in the UK, presenting an enormous opportunity for on-line merchants. However, only a few 'enlightened' companies even consider older people when marketing on-line, with less than 5% of total online marketing budgets targeted at this age group. That is bound to change soon as on-line retailers catch-on, but in the meantime silver surfers are making the most of what else the internet has to offer.

There is anecdotal evidence that there is a hard-core of retired people who could be classified as 'early adopters', due to their eagerness to try out new features online and buy the latest technology. Indeed, many of those have the latest machines and gadgets, including items such as professional standard webcams, so that they can take advantage of free video calls to see as well as talk to their children and grandchildren.

In this day and age when it is much more common for families to live on opposite sides of the world, everyone has much more opportunity to keep in touch with their immediate families, via the internet. Instant messaging has been available for many years, but text based communication is incapable of delivering true emotion or sentiment, resulting in the introduction of a whole new system of graphic emotions using various smiley faces, to which older people tend not to subscribe.

The best form of communication is face-to-face, but when that isn't possible the next best alternative is video calling; a much better option for people who want to talk and not type. And many of the older 'early adopters' have already discovered that as technology is advancing so quickly high-quality images can now be delivered via internet to the opposite side of the world in an instant, allowing them to stay in touch with their loved ones all over the globe. All that is required is that people that wish to communicate with each other via this method have a webcam and the same provider software installed on their PC or laptop.

But, the real beauty of this technology, as many over-50s have already discovered, is that voice and video calls made through the same provider are free. Now, not only can they exchange all their latest news online, they can talk about it for as long as they like safe in the knowledge that it's not costing them a penny!

Who says that old people can't adapt to new technology?