Does Social Networking Grab You?

Boomers and older are flocking to social networking sites in droves. Even "seniors" (over age 60) can find a host of sites created for their needs. See listing here of the 50 best social networking sites, compiled as of November 2008. These sites reportedly are more grounded and less superficial than Facebook and Twitter. They offer opportunities to connect with other like-minded people, for romance, or for matching people with their interests like hiking, travel, or bridge.

Since we know that social isolation is one of the biggest culprits leading to depression in single older people, it makes sense to incorporate computer literacy in programs for seniors. Once they get past any shyness about communicating with strangers and also master the basic requirements and social etiquette of networking online,the medium can offer lots of fulfillment.

Here are a sampling of the kinds of sites especially relevant to people over age 40:

• Maple and Leek for 50+ who want to meet adventurous and entrepreneurial people 
• Life Two, "Midlife Improved"  
• Senior Friend Finder, a dating site 
• Mango Tree, to find travel partners 
• Dogster for dog lovers 
• Patients Like Me for people who share similar health problems 

Write your experiences or those of your older relatives with social networking. Are they finding satisfaction with whom and what they find on these sites? Are they disappointed about the quality of people whom they meet? Are they subjected to hard sell advertising? What is the downside?