The conversation started easily enough: A local group of seniors were enjoying a monthly lunch when one said: "My son wants to buy me a computer."

The responses ranged from "Oh, lucky you!" to "You poor thing."

We quickly got on to the topic of whether to join the "technology revolution" -- or not. Back in 2004, a Pew research report revealed that a full 80 percent of seniors didn't have any intention of going online. A 2009 study revealed that 42 percent of seniors use a computer. How far we've come in a few years.

We took a vote, and our statistics were higher: Seventy percent of us already had a computer, and of that number, about 50 percent felt competent to do all they wanted. Email was a given.

When it came to downloading and printing or filing photos, the percentage fell. The success rate was related to having taken a class or having a nearby grandchild to give instruction.

As for social media -- engaging with others via the Internet -- only one of us confessed to that, saying he had Twitter and Facebook accounts and used them to keep up with his children.

But successfully searching on the Internet, that was more difficult. Still, with some effort, it's possible to find all sorts of helpful information online: worldwide news, vacation research, the latest health data.

Our group's apparent guru, the one with the Facebook account, cited another reason for being on the Internet: One of his old school chums was able to look him up, and they've been able to share memories, stories and photos.

In case you're on the fence: If nothing else, finding old friends would make having computer access worthwhile.