Social Networking

From Senior Planet Resource Exchange

[edit] Overview

Social Networking is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends. It is also a chance to make new friends. Social Networking can be beneficial to the well-being of older adults, especially those who live far from family and friends or are unable to socialize outside their home. There are many social networking websites available today. Some websites are geared towards people with specific interests or within specific geographic locations, while others are geared to specific age groups. To learn more about the benefits of social networking for older adults and to read about specific experiences, please read "Online, ‘a Reason to Keep on Going’" from the NYTimes. Or read Socially Networked: How teens, parents and grandparents are all online and linked from AARP.

While all social networking websites have the same goal: to connect people, each website is unique and set up differently from the next. Before joining a social network be sure to look around the website to learn about the kind of people who are members. Read privacy policies so that you know how the website handles your personal information. Virtually all social networking websites are free to use but you must create a user or member account in order to get started. These are easy and quick to set up and generally require your name and email address.

Below you will find a list of social networking websites to explore.

[edit] Social Networking Websites

For Older Adults

• Eons: the online community for boomers
• Boomj: for the Baby Boomer and Jones Generations
• Tee Bee Dee: "a social network for adults"

Special Interest

• Goodreads: get book recommendations and keep track of books you've read
• Geni: build a family tree and stay in touch with family members

General

• Facebook: connect with friends, family, and grandchildren

AARP has a good article further exploring a few social networking sites, making it easy to know up front what you are signing up for. The article can be found here.