Seniors friend Facebook
September 6, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
From Aylin Zafar’s Atlantic article, “Facebook for Centenarians: Senior Citizens Learn Social Media.”
More than just a tool or channel for information, the Internet (and social networking, more specifically) has become a way for aging adults to connect to their loved ones and maintain their communities and relationships in ways more powerful than anything they ever imagined…..
An upcoming study to be published by Dr. Shelia Cotten, a sociologist and Associate Professor from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, reveals that Internet use was associated with a 30 percent decrease in depressive symptoms among older adults who used it regularly, while other studies have shown similarly impressive results.
The 74-plus demographic is the fastest growing demographic among social networks, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet American Life Project, and social networking among Internet users ages 65 and older grew 100 percent between April 2009 and May 2010, jumping from 13 percent to 26 percent. Facebook, Twitter, and Skype all show the most growth in the older adult demographic and with 39 million people currently aged 65 and older — and an estimated 55 million by 2020 — social networks are sure to continue to see a surge in their older base.
Makes lots of sense to me. Though the younger generation was first and fastest in embracing social media and there is still a great deal of technophobia among pre-boomers, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, email and so on are perfect for the older set.
