Do your retired parents seem bored? Finding hobbies is difficult for people set in their ways. Social media can offer some useful distraction in your elderly parents’ lives. They can keep in touch with family and friends while learning more about the world. Here are three tips for helping your elderly parents embrace social media.

Emphasize Family

What’s the most important thing in the lives of your parents? Odds are good that they’d say family. They love keeping in touch with children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Staying in touch with the generations that came after them brings joy to your parents.

What’s the best way to keep in touch with family? The answer is social media. Explain the benefits of sites like Facebook and Instagram to your parents. Show them how they can connect with family members as well as friends who have lost touch over the years. If Facebook doesn’t interest them, Instagram will. Old people like nothing better than pictures of the grandkids. The ability to see their daily adventures will make your parents want to sign up. Once they do, these apps will enrich their lives
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Buy the Right Phone

Everyone has a horror story about teaching a computer-related skill to an elderly person. You may use the anecdote for laughs, but it embarrasses your parents. Old people grew up in an age where televisions weren’t all in color, and long distance phone calls cost lots of money. The idea of a smartphone that doubles as a video delivery system is understandably challenging.
You should help your parents to buy the right phone. Pick one that is larger so that they will have an easier time reading social media messages. Also remember that typing on a smartphone will seem strange to a novice. Pick a device with a keyboard that is easy to understand and use.

You should also show your parents how to use the phone’s features. You don’t need to go overboard here. Show them how to make calls and texts. Also, teach them how to load social media apps like Twitter and Pinterest. If they never learn how to do this, they won’t use the phone you just spent time and money finding for them.

Make Social Media Simple

Don’t load a lot of apps on your parents’ new phone. When an older person looks at a smartphone, simplicity is important. When the home page display has too many apps, your parents may feel overwhelmed. They won’t know what to pick, and this frustration will discourage them from using the phone.

At first, you should only load basic social media apps on the phone. Then load each feed with enough useful information that your parents will want to use the apps. Select a small number of friends and family on Facebook, and pick entertaining Twitter users. You want to incentivize your parents to look at social media regularly. It will help them relish their free time.
Your parents will love social media as soon as they appreciate its value. Follow these three tips to enrich their lives by acting internet-social!

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