About 37 percent elderly use social networking sites

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 10 June 2010, 21:18 IST   |    7 Comments
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About 37 percent elderly use social networking sites
Springfield: Among those who go online, around 37 percent of adults aged above 50 say they use social networking sites like Facebook, according to a survey by AARP, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization and interest group for retired people. "It connects you with your past. I'm on Facebook and I've met people that were stationed with me in the Air Force. Now we're having a reunion. There are 150 of us. It started with Facebook," said Jim Spencer, who teaches an internet class at the Northampton Senior Center. According to the survey, 63 percent of seniors who have joined Facebook did so because their son or daughter encouraged them to. The AARP survey also revealed that around 40 percent of adults aged 50 and above say they are very comfortable using the internet. But most aren't using laptops, 57 percent of seniors surveyed say they use desktops to surf the web.