A Social Media Lesson For Baby Boomers

• Tweet

• Tweet

Poking is not what you think it is (and other things you should teach your mum about social media and technology)

Baby Boomers are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook. In particular, women aged 55 and over are flocking to the social networking site, presumably spurred on in part by the fact that this is the place they are now most likely to be able to keep tabs on their grandchildren.

Boomers – or should that be Boomettes? – are also getting smartphones, using the Internet more and generally doing a bang up job of grabbing the technological bull by the horns. Still, though, some of the more nuanced aspects of social media and tech engagement seem to pass them by.

So here a few guidelines, courtesy of your friendly social media agency. Feel free to tape them to the wall above your mum’s computer…

Dear Mum,

1.    Poking is not what you think it is. Really.

No, the fact that Uncle Brian poked you on Facebook does not mean anything rude. It’s a virtual way of saying hi. Yes, I do realise it is kind of stupid when you think about it, considering he could just pick up the phone and talk to you. No, I didn’t know that Uncle Brian hasn’t phoned Dad in over a month, and yes, I know how much you’ve done for him in the past, especially when he had his gall bladder operation.

2.    A Wall is just the screen underneath someone’s profile picture.

And if you write on it, your message is visible to everyone who is friends with the person whose wall it is. Try to remember this applies to comments you make underneath photos as well, so next time you feel like commenting that the person in the picture with me at a music festival ‘is gorgeous and would make a good match for you!’ or reopening the delightful question of when I’m going to settle down and give you grandchildren, you might want to think of using a more private forum.

3.    When you send a text message, you are billed per message, not per character. In fact these days your plan probably includes all of your text messages anyway.

It is therefore not necessary to send messages in a weird hybrid language only you understand in order to save money. Also, there are plenty of options in text messaging that allow you to make use of punctuation. ‘Going into the city to eat dogs coming home from the vet today’ means something very different (and more sinister) than the intended: ‘Going to the city to eat. Dog’s coming home from the vet today.’ See?

4.    You don’t need to yell to be heard on a mobile phone.

While you seem to think that in order to bridge the distance between us while talking on a mobile phone your voice actually needs to somehow break the sound barrier, technology is pretty advanced in that area. Talk normally.

5.    These days, LOL means ‘Laugh out Loud’, not ‘Lots of Love’. Don’t just guess what abbreviations mean and then proceed to appropriate them for your own use.

Like when someone writes that they’re having a hard day, it is not appropriate for you to write ‘LOL! xox’. Nor is it appropriate in any of the following situations:

- when someone’s pet has died
– when someone’s relationship status changes to ‘single’
– underneath a picture of someone’s newborn baby.

Love,

Your Caring Offspring.

xo

Image source: Cavan Images

A Tick Yes social media blog