PINEHURST, N.C. -- A growing group of people ages 65 and older are signing on to social networking for seniors sites, or just plain "old" Facebook. The number of seniors using the Internet rose by 6 million in the past five years, according to data released by Nielsen in December. Facebook and YouTube were their third and fourth most visited online destinations. (Google and Windows Media were first and second.)
Carolyn Brady is one of social networking's newest followers. She opened a Facebook account in October but didn't log in again after that.
The 68-year-old retired schoolteacher even took a Facebook class for seniors at Sandhills Community College to learn the ins and outs of the social networking Web site. Somehow it didn't stick.
But when friends kept e-mailing her, requesting she become more active on the website, she decided to give it another try.
Brady returned to Sandhills Community College to retake the Facebook for Seniors continuing education course. She was one of more than a dozen seniors who took the class in April.
"What does it mean when it says I have a weak password?" Brady asked instructor Lori Williams, who was helping the students log on to their accounts.
"You should have a mix of alphanumeric characters," Williams explained.
Once Brady was satisfied with a password she felt was secure enough, she was ready to set up her profile. The minute she opened her Facebook account, she was greeted with seven friend requests. "Oh, she looks so different," Brady said, scrolling past the requests. "Lori's on here. Oh, Douglas looks good." "Now this person I don't know," she said, stopping to investigate a mystery man's profile. She clicked on "ignore," and his request disappeared. "He won't come back," she said with a chuckle. Williams, who teaches the Facebook for Seniors continuing education course, serves as the college's director of community education and outreach. She said the college first offered the class in the fall, and it has taken off. Twenty people signed up for the most recent course held over two Fridays in April. Tuition was $45. "A lot of the younger folks are wanting their parents, their grandparents to have a Facebook account to communicate with them. However, people are reluctant to do it because they don't know much about it," Williams said. "We want to move them in that direction." The course teaches participants how to create Facebook profiles, send messages, upload pictures and manage their privacy settings as well as reconnect with friends and family members. Students also learn how to join groups on Facebook and to avoid clicking on links that could lead to scams or computer viruses.
"We take it for granted this generation. You should be able to click, and it's easy, but it's not for them," Williams said. "We're going to continue to offer it as long as they are interested. Hopefully, they'll become interested in Twitter." Staying in Touch Charlie Laird, who lives in Southern Pines, N.C., said she thought joining Facebook would be a good way to keep up with her two grandsons, who are 9 and 16. She decided to take the plunge when she saw that the Facebook for Seniors class was being offered. "My daughter has been asking me to join, and I've been getting invites from people in my e-mail," said Laird, who is a retired schoolteacher. "I wanted to make sure that I could control what's being put out there," Laird said. "Because I have heard some disadvantages to social networking." The class, she said, is giving her the confidence she was looking for to navigate the Web site with ease and to make sure she uses it to her benefit. "I could have done this a couple of years ago," she said. "But I was so hesitant about putting my information out there. I'm beginning to feel more comfortable about it." Nancy Garner, a 77-year-old retired librarian, opened a Facebook account for the first time during the April 9 class. She thought it would be a good way to stay in touch with people and meet people with common interests. "You really don't have time in your life to do everything on this thing, but I wanted to see if it would lead somewhere for me," said Garner. She might even try to connect with her two teenage grandsons. How does she think they're going to react when they learn she joined the social networking site? "I think they're going to be horrified!" Garner said, laughing. "Oh, no! She's checking on me again."
