Writing a column like this one requires the author to do a balancing act. On one hand, we want to give good solid examples of what might happen when a product is used in a certain way. On the other hand, we want to make sure that we don't stereotype a particular group. The first part is easy; but on occasion, when we create those examples, we inadvertently refer to a specific group to hammer in the meaning of the example.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about how difficult it could be to install an Internet connection -- and made it known that I particularly feel for elderly people who don't know what questions to ask because the installation could be even more difficult for them. In another recent column, I talked about how my in-laws had trouble understanding the concept behind fuel awards and how to cash them in. In both cases, I used elderly people as the reference group -- as if senior citizens and the elderly are the only people who have these troubles.

After my article about Internet installation problems first ran, I received a thoughtful e-mail from Carol Moritz, an AOL user from Pittsburgh. This reader, in her 70s, was blunt in her message in defense of her demographic group:

"Do not confuse 'elderly' with senile, brain-dead, fuzzy headed, etc. They do not equate."

She's right. Getting older shouldn't be equated with being stupid. It actually should be equated with being seasoned -- having been through previous experiences that are helpful when dealing with current challenges. I only can hope that I'm as good a thinker when I reach my golden years as many of the senior citizens I know.

I never meant to suggest that "older" equates with "duller" -- I believe quite the opposite. Those who have heard me speak about the dot.com bust of 2000 know that I equate a substantial part of the problem to having too many companies run by people in their 20s -- many of whom had never lived through a single business cycle.

Older citizens are not the only people who have trouble with technology. Young people have trouble too. I see lots of people in their 20s who don't know how to send an e-mail message, haven't figured out an efficient way to find information on the Web, or have various computerphobic reactions. It's not a question of smarts. It's a question of exposure.

Older citizens have spent most of their lives learning one way of doing things, and becoming Web-savvy requires them to throw out older ways and in some cases relearn the basics of how they act. In almost all my columns, when I refer to the trouble of elderly people, it's because of my belief that they often haven't been suitably exposed.

Ms. Moritz told me it took three visits from Comcast to get her installation right and suggested that if she had been younger, it might have been only two. The point of my article was that the installation is much harder than it should be. Ms. Moritz conceded that if she were younger, installation might have taken one less visit, but I don't agree. If the problem is one of the installation process or the technology, no amount of youth or experience could have reduced the number of house calls for her or me. It would have required better trained installers.

Finally, Ms. Moritz made a considerate offer to me in her e-mail by saying, "I am retired -- maybe I could come by and help you get connected."

Thanks, Ms. Moritz. I might take you up on that.