Hide your naughty, pre-adulthood pictures as fast as you can, as pretty soon your grandparents will be stalking you on Facebook, if they aren’t already. New York libraries plan to start teaching seniors how to use Facebook across all 87 New York City libraries:
Seniors are a growing demographic, with more than half of U.S. adults 65 and older online, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. For many elderly citizens, particularly those who live alone and far from their families, social networking sites offer new opportunities to stay in touch, share photos, make new friends or reconnect with old ones … “They are more tech savvy than they think they are,” said Soule after teaching a class of five seniors – two men and three women. “They tend to be unsure of themselves, I find, and they need reinforcement and some tips about how to use it better.”
What a fantastic idea. I’m not being sarcastic here. The more we can assuage the fears of seniors and get them online, interacting with their peers, the better. Who knows, maybe the next major Web 3.0 company will be launched by some of these seniors re-realizing their entrepreneurial spirit.
Source: Reuters
