Persona 3: Derek Wilkins (61)

Name: Derek Wilkins (61)
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White British
Marital Status: Married to Beryl
Children: Two sons, one daughter, two grandchildren
Location: Reading
Occupation: Librarian
Income: £1100 per month
Hobbies: Woodworking, Walking, Reading, Gardening

Background:

Derek lives in a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in the town of Reading. He owns the house outright and lives a comfortable life, taking 2-3 holidays abroad per year, owns two cars, and has an extensive library at home.
Derek has a fairly negative outlook on things despite living fairly comfortable. He is some what of a hypochondriac and tends to worry a lot about his health. He is thinking of retiring from his job, or going part-time as he is finding it increasingly tiring. He would also like to spend more time at home, to work on his latest woodwork project, which is an ornate set of bookshelves for his office at home. He would also like to spend more time with his grandchildren and he is thinking of buying a caravan in the new forest so that his family can holiday together.

Typical Day:

Derek gets up at about 7 o'clock so that he can be ready to leave the house for work at 8.15. He arrives in work at about 8.30. He usually takes his lunch at 12.30 and takes a walk around the local shops to get a bit of exercise. He finishes work at 5pm, and when he arrives home usually potters around in the garden, or works on his woodwork project in his shed. After eating, he usually checks his email and watches some tv.

Computer Proficiency

Derek recently acquired his own computer after his son upgraded his and donated his old computer to his father. As he uses a computer as part of his job, he is acustomed to the basics of using a computer. He uses the computer mainly to research topics of interest on the internet, and emailing his family, in particular, his grandchildren which he enjoys a lot. His wife has also started to use the computer and enjoys playing solitaire and looking for holidays on the internet. He also enjoys using the computer with his grandchildren and is amazed by how easy they do things on it. Derek finds that he can only use the computer for short periods of time as it gives him eye strain.

Attitude to Internet

Derek is very untrusting of the internet. He refuses to use it to do banking or purchase goods, because he is afraid of cyber criminals stealing his details. His pc also became infected with a virus recently and so this adds to his worry of internet use.

Attitude to Technology

Derek is ok with new technology. He usually seeks his grandchildrens advice with new purchases. He has a number of 'gadgets', such as a digital radio, dvd recorder and a digital camera. He also enjoys watching tv and has subscribed to sky television. He is comfortable using the additional features sky provides, such as setting reminders and anything to do with the red button.

Goals

Derek would like to use the internet more but is not really interested in researching anything to do with computers. His next computer project is to get a web camera so he can communicate with his family over the internet. He would also like to start using the internet to make purchases if he could be sure that no-one will steal his details.