The Australian government recently passed a bill that prohibits minors under the age of 16 from using social media, pointing out the various harms it causes to people, especially teenagers. However, social media users are not only young people. 78.3% of Australians frequently use social media to contact friends and family, including many elderly people. 21.3% of the advertising users of a social media company in Australia are elderly people aged 55 and above, second only to the 25.4% of netizens aged 25 to 34.
As the elderly embrace social media, the digital divide is shrinking. Data from 2024 shows that more than 70% of the elderly over 65 are social media users to some extent. Among them, social media used to contact family and friends is the most frequently used. In addition, the elderly often use the platform to share memories, participate in community group chats and browse news. This phenomenon is a joint product of internal and external factors. Many elderly people are eager to stay in touch with their families, especially grandchildren who like to share their lives on social media.
Social Media Improves The Quality of Life of The Elderly
The ability of social media to create interactions will directly affect the quality of life of the elderly. Social media can ensure social connections for the elderly, but its effectiveness depends on how it is used. The excitement and fun of the online world make the elderly more willing to use smart devices. More and more elderly people are starting to use smartphones, tablets and other devices to access the Internet. They use the Internet to keep in touch with family and friends, obtain information, and entertain themselves. The reasonable use of the Internet can have a positive impact on the mental health of the elderly. The elderly who use the Internet are more educated, more in sync with the times, and can better adapt to society. This will not only improve the happiness of the elderly, but also reduce their loneliness and improve their life satisfaction. The elderly should make good use of Internet resources so that every elderly person can enjoy the digital social dividends brought by technological progress.
Social media allows the elderly to participate in family relationship conversations. Through photos, videos and dynamic updates, the elderly can understand the lives of their families without being restricted by physical distance. Chat software allows them to share information and get in touch with their families in real-time. Social platforms allow the elderly to contact old friends who have lost contact, relive the old times, gain a sense of belonging, relieve loneliness, and solve the biggest worries of their later lives. Social media can allow the elderly to participate in new relationships through interests and hobbies such as gardening, photography or travel. These virtual communities allow members to freely exchange ideas, share experiences, and cultivate friendships based on common interests. For many people, it is an essential link between family, friends, and new communities, enriching their social lives and alleviating social isolation.
Social media allows older people to make friends widely. Through various media platforms, they can make friends all over the world. They can use social media to connect with like-minded and congenial new and old friends, build bridges of friendship, and then continue to increase, or even expand like a snowball. The more friends they make, the more happiness they get. Frequent online interactions can dispel feelings of loneliness and depression, and bring a sense of belonging and mission to the elderly. Online forums are becoming more and more popular as a platform for obtaining and disseminating health information. The elderly can participate in chronic disease mutual aid groups, share health tips, and even participate in civic dialogues.
Social media allows the elderly to use their expertise. Those elderly friends who have certain cultural knowledge, professional level and special skills, they are active in major media self-media platforms, and they are also to give full play to their spare heat, write down their life experience, professional knowledge, cultural skills, etc., and share them on the media platform. Most of them just hope to continue to make some contributions to society and the public, not for fame, let alone profit, but just for happiness. For example, they publish pictures, texts and videos on the media platform, and do some good things within their ability to satisfy their sense of accomplishment.
Challenges of The Elderly Using Social Media
With the development of the world’s digitalization process, empowering the elderly with social media interaction can not only maintain their ties with the times, but also enable them to actively participate in the rapidly changing social landscape. However, for the elderly, social media is not only beneficial, but also means many challenges. The complex interface of some platforms will discourage many elderly people. The elderly have limited acceptance and ability to use the Internet. Some elderly people have outdated ideas and are always unwilling to accept new things. Some elderly people are not familiar with the functions of digital devices such as smartphones and computers, and are not proficient in operation. There are also some applications whose interface design is not friendly to the elderly, and the Internet interface is complex and not easy to operate. Studies have shown that half of the elderly feel nervous when using interactive technology. Issues such as privacy, false information and online fraud can also create barriers for the elderly. Although social media can promote interaction, it cannot replace face-to-face communication.
Some videos on short video platforms that sow discord will cause the elderly’s judgment ability to plummet. Some elderly people cannot separate themselves from the main body of the video when watching it, and they are prone to put themselves into it and end up complaining about themselves. Or they make unnecessary comparisons with the main body of the video, and the subsequent imbalance leads to inner frustration, which ultimately affects family harmony. There are even some videos that specifically start from the relationship between the elderly and their children. They seem to be talking about reason, but in fact they convey a wrong value that hinders family harmony.
And these are a threat to the new social model of the elderly who are increasingly addicted to short video and other platforms. Therefore, it is naturally worth promoting for the elderly to start a new type of social interaction, but the premise is to ensure that they can provide a safe and harmonious social platform for the elderly. Today’s elderly people have opened up a new and diversified social model. Despite this, how to use the Internet to meet the survival, social and emotional needs of the elderly is what we need to focus on and take action on in the current digital age.
