“God, they need it! You’ve NO idea the guilt trips these seemingly innocuous little Grandma’s are capable of when you get lax on your calls or visits.”
-(Comment referring to Social Networking for Senior Citizens)

Below are some excerpts from Joshua Brockman’s article,

“Social Networking Surges For Seniors”

More and more people ages 50 and older are joining social networks, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. The study found that social networking has almost doubled among this population — growing from 22 percent to 42 percent over the past year.

According to comScore, a digital measurement company, 27.4 million people age 55 and over engaged in social networking in July, up from 16 million one year ago.

Most older adults have been introduced to social networking by their children, and this has the potential for strengthening family ties across generations.

The Pew report also found that social networking users are much more likely to reconnect with people from their past. These contacts can build and enhance support networks as people begin a second career or near retirement.

The appeal of social networking for older Americans may also be related to managing health issues. Blogging and contributing to online health forums or listservs are popular activities for some people coping with a serious illness. The Pew report found that people living with a chronic disease are more likely to reach out for support online.

AARP says the top four online activities for people over 60 are Google, Facebook, Yahoo and YouTube.

Tammy Gordon, AARP’s senior adviser for social communications, says a quarter of the organization’s members are using Facebook, and the number is rising quickly.

Nearly 19 million people ages 55 and over used Facebook in July, up from about 9 million one year ago, according to comScore.

Twitter use has also grown. Ten percent of Internet users over 50 say they’re using Twitter or other status update services, according to Pew.

Despite the rise in social networking activities, Pew’s research found that seniors over 65 are among those least likely to have high-speed Internet access at home — less than one-third of them have broadband. And many in this population are less likely to see the lack of broadband as a disadvantage.

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