Facebook, new-age networking site ‘for the older generation’

Thane: Facebook now seems to be gaining popularity among the older generation, who have been connecting with friends and family through the new-age networking site.
Facebook’s demographic shift, where people above 50 years of age are becoming a regular and spending quality time on the site, reveals their acceptance to technology and willingness to learn new modes of connecting socially using their laptop or smartphones.

The sudden influx of the elderly to Facebook, however, has not gone down too well with their children and grandchildren who have not just blocked them to avoid embarrassment in front of their peers but also with some moving to other “young” sites.

Rahul Jain, a 59-year-old resident of Thane, said, “I have signed in to Facebook very recently out of curiosity. I would often see my daughters hooked onto it, playing some games and posting pictures. At first I could not understand a thing, but now I have got a hang of it. I use it to get in touch with my friends settled abroad. Though I have WhatsApp on my cellphone, I like Facebook more as I can see them real time and know what they are up to.”

While some flock to Facebook to share pictures of their latest expeditions, a few make the most of the platform to connect with random likeminded people across the globe.

Swati Pongurlekar, a 52-year-old working professional from Thane, said, “I am extremely passionate about photography and birding. Through Facebook I keep an eye on birding events or other related projects I might like. I am also a member of many groups on Facebook pertaining to my hobby of bird watching, travel, wildlife photography, etc.”