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THE SOCIAL NETWORK A breakdown of social media platforms and how best to use them BY: » Renee Roberson
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n the last 10 plus years, social media has expanded the capabilities we all have in keeping connected, tracking news headlines and even learning new skills. In general terms, social media refers to websites and applications that enable users to create and share content and participate in social networking. The most widely used social networking platforms used by people in the 55+ category include Facebook,
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YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. According to a study published by the Pew Institute in 2018, Facebook and YouTube are the two most popular platforms in this age demographic, with 65 percent of participants surveyed using Facebook, 68 percent using YouTube, and 26 percent utilizing Pinterest. As a side note, if you’ve never seen the 2010 film “The Social Network,” written by Aaron Sorkin, it’s a pretty eye-opening account on
how Facebook was first started by Mark Zuckerberg and his classmates on the college campus of Harvard University.
Benefits of Using Social Media
The pros to using social media are plentiful; they can help you stay connected with family members, share photos and video among people you know, keep up with trends, learn about new subjects and keep up with happenings in the news. They are also a
good place to meet likeminded people (there are an abundance of Facebook sub-groups you can join) and learn about events going on in your community. Pinterest is a great visual medium that is helpful when vacation planning, finding new recipes and looking for clothing ideas and furniture and design inspiration. It can be a bit tricky to use at first, but once you learn how to create “boards” and “pin” your finds to them, it can become addictive (in a good way!)
