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The older generations are often stereotyped as inadequate in online social networking. Great Grandmother, Ivy Bean from Britain is here to prove people wrong. She is also celebrating her 104th birthday in style today (8th September).
She has only started using the Internet after arriving at Bradford care home 2 years ago.
While some are resorting to buying friends on Facebook, Ivy Bean got to know thousands of online friends in a mere couple of months.
She is currently reaching her 5,000 friends limit on Facebook and has over 30,000 followers on Twitter – that made her one of the most followed online citizens in Britain. Her 104th birthday is nothing short of pure excitement both online and offline.
According to her tweet, Grandma Ivy had a party in the afternoon, probably with her friends in Bradford care home. While most of us might take up 5 minutes to open up all our birthday cards, Grandma Ivy sent a tweet saying: “I have just opened all my cards its taken me 20 minutes”.
Over on Facebook and Twitter, birthday wishes are pouring in at a fanatic speed. If Grandma Ivy were to reply all of them, it will definitely take more than 20 minutes.
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We should embrace the elderly in our online social networks
As age catches up with us, we’re unlikely to be as active physically. Life would get dull and there just wouldn’t be much to look forward to. But times has changed. The online world has a lot to offer to everyone.
Perhaps it is a good idea to embrace their presence online and encourage the elderly around us to be part of our social networks. Play Farmville with them and send them virtual gifts, you might just get tons back in return. Social media can keep them more connected to the world. Decades down the road, I believe most of us wouldn’t want to be out of place in the online world.
Abandon the stereotyping and don’t fall victim to it because social media is for ALL to use.
Oh, and don’t forget to send a birthday wish to Grandma Ivy.
Update: Ivy Bean Interviewed by CNN
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