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What’s the main subject of boomers’ online interests? Retirement? Health? Family?

It’s not what you might think.Research by gerontologist Galit Nimrod, Department of Communication Studies and a research fellow at the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, has found that the most popular online pursuit by seniors in online communities is “fun.” In a 2010 analysis of 50,000 posts for six leading senior online communities from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, most posts were related to noncompetitive social games of cognitive, association, and creative varieties.

The most popular subjects seniors posted about were sex and gender differences. Mild sex jokes such as Lovemaking Tips for Seniors (e.g., “set timer for 3 minutes in case you doze off in the middle”) were typical of the humor. In fact, Nimrod found the online community exchanges hilarious.

Participation in an online social group – even for those who are just lurkers -- is beneficial on so many levels, says Nimrod: “mental fitness, constructive use of leisure time, increased feelings of success and achievement, and improved self-esteem.”

We are excited to offer you the chance to participate in a new survey by Galit Nimrod and her team that will lead to further understanding of the relatively new phenomenon of senior online communities