Eating Healthy for Life

Boomers and Social Media is an article from eMarketer.com that looks at information from May, 2009. That data found that 47% of all baby boomers who adopt the Internet keep a profile on at least one social networking internet site. That's a gain of 15% from 2008. Facebook is the social media site used by most baby boomers and the WWII generation. (via New Report Shows Boomers, Seniors Like Social Media.)

I have enthusiastically promoted senior citizens on PCs and the World Wide Web as a great way of perpetuating a high quality of life for our aging friends, in particular in the field of memory improvement. I, myself, possess a Facebook account and several other social media accounts, too. I monitor my Facebook page just about every day because it helps me keep up with individuals I know all over the globe. In fact, I have never met some of them face-to-face, and others I haven't seen for fifty years or more!

On Facebook you will find many activities for senior citizens, as well as special groups about everything you can visualize. It is probable that you will find alumni groups for your high school, people who grew up in your home town, or even your family! If not, you can start a senior community of your own, or any other kind of group you like! Seniors on Facebook have a number of groups, and I subscribe to a variety of of them myself.

If you are looking at this it is probable that you are a computer user. As such, you will already be aware of the advantages to be gained by owning and making us of a personal computer. However, you in all probability also know that many seniors are unmindful of the things they can do with a computer, or are actively put off by the concept of using computers. This is a problem for both them and for us, because we yearn for the interactions we might have with them. In fact, if you are the child or grandchild of a senior who doesn't use a computer or the Internet, you will almost undeniably benefit from giving that individual a reproduction of this article!

Here are a few of the benefits of Facebook that make it so excellent for seniors:

The Wall consists of a space on each user's profile page that encourages friends to leave announcements and questions for the user to see.

Photos, where users can upload albums and pictures. Privacy settings can be established for particular albums, which determine the users that can see an album. For example, the privacy of an album can be set so that only the Facebook user's friends can see the album, while the privacy of another album can be set so that any Facebook users can see it. Another feature of the Photos application is the ability to "tag", or label users in a photo. For instance, if a picture contains a user's friend, then the user can tag the friend in the photo. This sends a notification to the friend that they have been tagged, and provides them a link to see the photograph.

Status, which permits users to inform their friends of their location and what they are doing. With certain how privacy is specified, a person who can see a user's profile can also observe that user's Wall. Facebook also allows users to post attachments to the Wall.

News Feed, that appears on every user's homepage and declares information including profile changes, upcoming events, and birthdays of the user's friends, if users decide to allow this.

Facebook Notes, a blogging feature that allows tags and embeddable images.

Gifts , which allows users to send virtual gifts and cards to their friends

Marketplace, which lets users post free classified ads.

Facebook is rather effortless to become a member, and the numerous categories of privacy offered will make most seniors comfortable. If you want to test it out without joining, use your web browser to get to the Facebook internet page, Facebook.com. Once you have arrived at that page, click on the "Find Friends" link at the bottom of the page. On the next page, enter my name, Robert Alan McCluskey, in the space labeled Search for People, and press the enter key or click the magnifying glass. Next you will see a page that identifies me. Click on my name (Robert Alan McCluskey again) to confirm that I am the right person and you will see a short selection of my Facebook profile. If you are interested in proceeding with a free membership, click on the Sign Up button to the right of my profile and follow the directions. You will promptly discover the many activities for seniors, as well as an almost limitless number of other outstanding features! See you on my friends list!