Not long ago, I was talking to a very nice friend who explained to me that she thought it was silly that so many 70 and 80 year olds were busy playing around on social networks.
She explained that she knew of several people spending 4-5 hours a day on Facebook, and she thought that was clearly insane, and was unbecoming of an adult.
She expects "teenie boppers" to do that, but suggested that some of the older folks she knows looked rather pathetic.
Okay so, let's talk.
You see, many of these individuals she discusses perhaps only do this because they want to keep track of their families who often live in other states or far away.
Grandparents can more easily keep track of their grandkids by viewing their pages on Facebook, making comments, and they are able to look at all their pictures as they're growing up.
This makes grandparents very happy, and last time I checked, anytime you start to talk to a grandparent, they tell you all about their grandkids, and their kids and their families.
If these are the kinds of things that make them happy, what they think about all day, then maybe playing around on Facebook or other social networks to satisfy that need helps fulfill their life experience.
Therefore if they do play around on Facebook talking to their own friends, and their grandkids, that it could indeed give them a sense of purpose and help them live longer.
Of course, there have been a number of articles explaining how grandparent should interact on social networks, because it's quite too easy to make a faux pas due to the drastic age differences.
The best thing a grandparent can do is to not get involved in online arguments between their grandkids and their friends.
Sometimes grandparents don't realize that the kids maybe having interpersonal relationship challenges with their other friends, especially adolescents, and next week they will make up, and be best friends once again.
If the grandparents get involved and take sides, usually on the side of their own grandkids, then they will alienate their grandchildren's friends, and then their grandkids are liable to block them.
It happens all the time.
Some would say that 70 and 80 year olds have no business playing on Facebook, that they are too old for that, but since we live in a free country, and these tools are available, why not, if they feel like they are getting a sense of purpose by joining social networks and communicate on them for whatever reason, that's their business, it's none of mine.
Please consider all this and think on it.