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FOOL'S EYE VIEW
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My mother-in-law was asking me about getting a new typewriter the other day. Her Olympia Monica S is getting on a bit and one or two of the letters seem to be wearing out. She's been looking in the Argos catalogue for a replacement. Frankly, I was amazed that you can still buy typewriters! They seem so quaint and old-fashioned that even the modern ones look like a reproduction 'antique'. How on earth did we manage before the arrival of the computer? And how do I persuade my 79-year-old mother-in-law to get one? According to a recent survey by MORI on behalf of Egg (LSE: EGG), over half (54%) of the British adult population - or around 25 million people - now use some form of interactive technology (Internet, digital TV or WAP mobile phone) for personal use. SMS text messaging is now used by around 1.2 million over-55s, so it's not just the youngsters who are taking advantage of the technology revolution. The use of the Internet is still on the increase – 42% of the British adult population now use the Internet for personal use, a rise of 9% in the last six months. And e-mail is now used regularly by 39% of the British adult population outside of work. One of the most startling increases, though, has been the huge jump in digital banking. Approximately 5.5 million Britons now bank online – an increase of 37.5% since April. Not surprisingly, the more familiar people are with the Internet, the more comfortable they are with it for transactional purposes. For instance, 56% of Internet users that have been online for over 5 years, now bank online. But among those who have been online for between 1 and 3 years, the figure dips to 20%. The latest findings also show that 46% of Internet users have bought a financial product over the Internet, compared to 34% in August this year. The three most popular financial products to be arranged over the Internet are insurance, credit cards and savings accounts. Car insurance tops the stakes with approximately two million people having taken out an online car insurance policy to date. I bank online and I got my car insurance via the Internet. And my house insurance. I've also done most of my Christmas shopping online, too. I simply can't imagine what I'd do without my computer. And if I could persuade my mum-in-law to get one, she wouldn't have to use her antiquated typewriter to type out a letter for me to e-mail to her niece in New Zealand! More: Arrange Your Finances Online -- Visit The Motley Fool's Online Banking, Insurance And Credit Card Centres!