It may be surprising for your loved ones how powerful social media can be for making new friends or staying connected with long-distance family members. But in recent years, older adults have been wising up to the influence social media can have on one’s social life. There has been a steady increase of those aged 65 and above engaging in social media as reported by the Pew Research Center. Popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can help your loved ones keep in touch with you, meet new people, and learn new skills. Read on to learn about how seniors can socialize via social media.
Sharing Photos and Videos
A main function of social media is to share photos and videos to family and friends. Whether it is pictures of a birthday celebration of a grandchild or present unwrapping videos during Christmas, sharing photos and videos can bring much joy to those around us. No wonder why sharing of such memories on social media is so popular nowadays. There are many platforms you can do this on, most popularly on Facebook to share to family and friends, or YouTube for longer form videos. Even if you are living apart from your loved ones, sharing such intimate moments can make it feel as if you are experiencing them together. They can also post about their daily lives be it vacation pictures or photos of a newly knitted scarf.
Meeting New People
Social media is a great place to connect with like-minded people and make new friends. You can encourage your loved ones to join an interest group of a hobby they enjoy. From ballroom dancing to golfing enthusiasts, there are endless amounts of groups for all sorts of interests. Pinterest is full of craft ideas and recipes to inspire their next at home project. If your loved ones are more extroverted, they can choose to attend face-to-face meetups that are regularly organized on Facebook. This is the perfect way to meet new people who have a common interest, making it easier to build friendships. Having a community on Facebook can also keep your loved ones constantly socialized and surrounded by love and support.
Stay Connected with Family and Friends
With family members moving away in this globalized world, social media can be the place where you keep in touch with your loved ones. Your loved ones can stay up to date about the current happenings in your life by scrolling through the numerous pictures and videos on your feed. Their feed can also provide excellent conversation starters the next time you meet up. Furthermore, platforms like Facebook and Twitter have chat functions which allows you to create chat groups so that your loved ones can easily message family and friends all in one place.
Commenting on Posts
What can show you that your loved ones are enjoying sharing your memories better than when they interact and comment with your posts. Be it a simple click of the like button or replying to a photo of your brand-new couch, you can see how your loved ones are feeling and navigating through social media. Commenting on posts is also a great way to start an engaging discussion with others on a topic you feel passionate about.
