Internetowe fora dyskusyjne: nowa przestrzeń aktywności i źródło poznania polskich seniorów z perspektywy badań glottodydaktycznych

Although the Internet originated in the late 1960’s, the actual popularization of this medium took place in the 1990’s. In Poland this process was initiated, and still continues, with a few years’ delay in comparison with West European countries or the United States. However, the Internet services market has changed significantly also in Poland ever since. The Internet has revolutionized almost all realms of life. It is becoming an increasingly popular sphere of activity among not only young people but also the elderly. This, in turn, creates new opportunities to learn about the elderly and the way of their individual and social functioning. This article presents sources of knowledge of Polish Internet websites and their users. The Polish elderly as Internet users have been described here as well. The Internet discussion forum serving as a new sphere of activity and a source of cognition of the Polish elderly has been discussed. Finally, an attempt has been made to define research potential of the aforementioned sphere in terms of language education studies.