Are you on Facebook? If so, I hope you'll join me in giving a "like" to Way2Age's new Facebook page either while you're on Facebook or by pushing the thumbs up "like" button on this site's main page. Did you know that a recent Pew Internet study shows over 60% of adults 65 through 76 are online and one in three use social networking sites like Facebook? Those of us over 76 also use Facebook but in lesser numbers so far, however, Internet trends are such that these figures may already be understated. By June of 2012 Facebook had attracted 71% of all Internet users in the U.S and by October had 1 billion users Internationally. In other words, if you're on Facebook you're sharing that experience with most of your countrymen and a good many of the people on earth. If you're not on Facebook---why are you waiting?
Who said Facebook was for college kids? Almost half of all Facebook members are over 45! Most people use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends. That's how I got involved and that's what convinced my mother to join albeit, at 84 then, reluctantly. Facebook can sometimes seem a bit inappropriate, immature and ill suited to our age as this 66 year old Facebook member jokes and I think many of you and my mother would agree, yet, once you get used to Facebook it can be liberalizing. "Friends" you choose on Facebook aren't limited to family and friends in real life. Indulge your fancy and make friends with a favorite author or Hollywood star.
Another great feature on Facebook are pages like the new one Way2Age has established. In that sense, it's a customized news and entertainment source. I feel like I'm more current on issues I really care about since I joined. Mom likes to have a good laugh and she loves posts from the many humor pages. Organizations and retail stores of all kinds are there. When you "like" them they send everything from special deals to breaking political news. You can read the notices or forget about them letting them drop down in the queue. Increasingly, I find myself talking with my real time friends about news I learned from Facebook pages!
Facebook's ability to keep us in touch with extended family and friends is by far its greatest value. Mom and I know more about our family from Facebook then we'd learned in the last twenty years. We see photos of the children regularly, we know who is on vacation and where and what causes and faiths interest them. Though we love that Facebook makes it easy to remember their birthdays--- sometimes its full of more information than we needed to know! I'm sure many of you would agree. But that's no reason not to join.
Are you wondering how to become a Facebook member ? Kind of interested but wanting to try it out? You may find that learning about and being on Facebook increases your socialization online and off. Start by finding a Facebook class or online tutorial. Check your local library. Many city libraries offer Facebook and computer literacy classes that are packed with interested new students over the age of 50. If you live in a retirement or assisted living community you may already have encountered computer, Faceboook, or Skype literacy classes. Take the plunge and I'll hope to see you there!
Update: March 2015 You have to laugh at this article about a 114 year old who had to lie about her age to join Facebook.
