Let grandmas teach you a thing or two -- about Facebook

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Grandmas, it seems, have taken to Facebook. And although the site is phasing out of popularity among young people, seniors are fully embracing it.

Since 2000, the number of adults 65 and older who use the Internet has increased from 14 percent to 59 percent. And in that group, nearly half use a social networking site such as Facebook. “As you get older, you become socially isolated, especially when your family lives far away. So an opportunity to get online and see what their grandkids are up to this weekend? That really appeals to them” says Saffron Cassaday, the director of “Cyber Seniors,” a 2014 documentary about teenagers teaching residents of retirement homes to use the Internet.

In a way, it’s easy to see how Facebook could have been made to please grandparents. It gives them a chance to be involved in their family members’ lives even from afar. That’s why retirement centers and senior-supportive charities across the country have been pushing social media use. It’s like the new bingo night.


Let grandmas teach you a thing or two -- about Facebook