Older adults and social media

“Hey, I saw your recent pictures from the Maldives. You looked great.” 

“Hey, did you watch that video: 7 simple ways to reduce weight, that I forwarded you.”

“Hey, I am sending you the invite for ludo king, join asap.”

Don’t all conversations on social media platforms look like that these days? The content available on social media is mostly unreliable. It is also very closely associated with teenagers and their social media standards. Here, what gets unnoticed most of the time is the increased dependency and usage of social media by older adults. 

Memes related to indian parents blaming everything wrong with their kids’ existence to a cell phone is needless to say; the most common meme we’ll ever come across. As a teenager, you must have been shouted at for spending the most amount of your time on social media. Similarly, you as an adult, must have passed on those comments or at least opined about social media: its usage, or its effect on your health, to your younger ones. Here, we tend to overlook social media’s effect on us and rather focus on its effect on other people. Even though in brown households, it is common for parents to constantly poke you to create a life outside the screens, they too tend to overspend their time on social media platforms. The number of older adults using social media on a daily basis has tremendously grown in the last few years. Earlier, in small towns, it was seen that Indian dads or granddads come back home after a long tiring day, had dinner, and then would go out for some time: to meet their friends or neighbors, to chit–chat and have some soda, play cards, take their children out for a ride, spend some time with them or any such social contact. It was like a small routine for them-as a part of their everyday life chores. Certainly such activities may be more prevalent in small cities compared to metropolitan cities. However, is it still applicable in today’s time? Do people still engage in social hobbies? I think not.

Today, I wonder if I’ll be able to walk past someone who’s not on their phone. In local train, metros, buses, or any public transport, each adult has been seen either scrolling through Instagram reels, those youtube laughter tracks, or watching shows/web series online. They are the same adults who, after going home, complain about their children not spending time with them but online. They are the same adults who may believe the fake forwarded WhatsApp messages and then make a comment about the young generation getting scammed online. The unrealistic standards imposed by social media do not necessarily impact teenagers only but older adults too. The urge to glorify their kid’s achievements on online platforms is more driven by societal appreciation and standards. Say,  Mr. A., posted a congratulatory note about his child getting accepted into some university, with a probable chance of him not even appreciating his child in person. This is one of the truths of how social media posting among older adults is done somewhere only to be seen and accepted by society with less emphasis on feelings and emotions. The constant comparison of ourselves, our families, social gatherings, and their lifestyle is not just what teens are after; nowadays, the older generation is equally involved or affected by it. However, With the festive season around, as I went home, all I could realize  this season, is how the integrity and jubilance of spending time with your friends and family has become nothing more than an exchange of messages. You could see people posting wishes online but did they actually greet their children or parents in person?  

Taking into consideration everything , the idea is to highlight the fact that people have substituted their mode and methods of relaxation with increased involvement in social media. By people here I mean, each individual. Gen Z is popularly criticized for this particular behavior. But were they not raised this way? What about the older generations then? Have they forgotten their roots too? What about the time they used to actually enjoy their life and not spend hours on Twitter or youtube? What is it then that’s keeping them fixated on social media platforms and the lives forged by them?

It is human nature to be fascinated by and acquire those things that are not provided to you or those that are simply inaccessible. Similarly, older adults were not exposed to the form of technology that we possess now, hence explaining their obsession with it. The charm and enthusiasm to learn something new and raw is one such reason for increased exposure to social media among adults. We  can all  feel this gap between ourselves and our grandparents in terms of the new terminologies i.e. slang, trends, certain perspectives, etc., which is also natural and important for evolution. To keep up with these trends, to be able to connect to their children more and maybe bond over a new show or a meme, a sudden shift of adults from newspapers to inshorts could be noticed.

They seek social media as an opportunity to make peace with things that they could not have during their time. With development and industrialization, people moved out to different cities and lost connection with people in the process. They found a way to reconnect with such people from their past with whom they had shared their entire childhood and have seen hardships. On the brighter side, adults, even those who did not get a chance to study and are not much literate, have explored their interests beyond family businesses or enhanced their previous hobbies, worked towards it, and established their small businesses. Media platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, etc. came in handy to promote and expand such small businesses.

Research has even  provided us with results that social media communication among older adults is associated with low levels of loneliness.  Online social support groups promoted via platforms like Facebook, Skype, or WeChat, may be used as an intervention plan to enhance emotional support, and relieve stress and companionship. Directed communication in terms of communication with a specific person, family member, or friend may induce feelings of belongingness, emotional closeness, and reduced loneliness. On the other hand, overdependence on such media may cause difficulty to distinguish between the real and virtual world. It may lead to increased social isolation. Overall, a balance needs to be maintained while using media platforms. Balance in general is what an individual should always aim for in real-virtual world balance or work-life balance. 

About the author

Saloni Bansal is a second-year B.sc. Applied Psychology student. She is intrigued by the idea of how, while writing down your thoughts, you become aware of and acknowledge new things. It gives her great insight and serves as a conduit for her to explore her beliefs and thoughts. That is how you can better understand and accept yourself. Other than that, humor and adventure is what keeps her going.