SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

Retirement – a dream come true for so many, including the baby boomers whose numbers, according to statistics increase by 10,000 every day. Retirement fulfills the dream of not working anymore, of being free and walking on the sunny side of the street. But how sunny is that street. A street that might stretch for 10,20,30 year to come. And what is there to do on that street?

Some find their grandchildren there, or they find places to travel to, or helping others by volunteering, but will these really carry us to the end of that long road? Maybe and maybe not.

But there is something that could make us walk along that street with our head held high and feeling once more that we are part of the world and not just passing time. What is it?

Social Media

Here I have to take a moment and tell you how much I have resisted it. I didn’t like it. I struggled with it, and even went as far as I thinking I didn’t need it. Truthfully I would have preferred not to start and end my day with opening and closing that square window in my office which is part of the computer. So what made me change my mind?

Social Media

Why don’t you go online? Follow us on Twitter! Do you have a Facebook page? Get your statement by going to our website. Do you want to pay on line?  These are all questions facing us at one time or another and there is no getting away from it –  so the answer is (excuse the cliché) if you can’t beat them join them.

And by joining them we can:

  • Learning a new skill
  • Giving our life a new purpose
  • Connecting with the world
  • Feeling once more part of the world

Oh, all this is a challenge and not so easy to do. But haven’t we overcome lots of challenges in our life – why not this one?

To help me do this I have been looking for a program that will teach me. No, not online because that is where my problem lies and I won’t get it. So if you are like me, and want to take on this new challenge, try to find a class you can attend in person. Most libraries have such classes and even computers you can practice on. Or ask friends who already made the connection to Social Media to search the web to find a course for you.

And above all don’t be part of the 35% of seniors (a statistic mentioned by Senior Planet founder Tom Kamber) who don’t have a computer. If you don’t have one, get one and if you have one, learn all about it -be on the highway of life not on a  road leading to nowhere.

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And never forget – A Smile Changed Everything!

2016-01-27 12.40.02 (5)Brigitte

 

 

SENIOR MOMENT? NO INFORMATION OVERLOAD!

 

scan0001-2If forgetting something is a senior moment than a lot of young people have senior moments —-  because they too forget things!

But their busy lives gives them a pass, whereas when an older person doesn’t remember it is seen as a result of being older. I think the truth, for young and old, lies somewhere in the middle. The constant bombardment of the news media, new inventions from Silicone Valley, advertisements, as well as the attachment to our new life lines like the iPhone, Smart Phone, Kindle, Podcast, Facebook, and many more I am not even aware of, are like an explosions around us. And often this new information is valid today and gone tomorrow.

A study done by Dr. Michael Remscar of the University of Tubingen in Germany reassures us, quote:

People do not decline mentally with age, it just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more in information in their brains. Much like a computer struggles as the hard drive gets full, so too, do humans take longer to access information when their brains are full.

Our brains are not just full they are overloaded and attacked on a daily basis. And not being able to take it all in, not being able to process it all, makes older people feel like their brains are not function as before.

Before was different. The world has changed and as hard as we try to take it all in, there will be moments for everybody – young and old – that will seem like a senior moment but are just an overload in your mental computer.

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And never forget – A Smile Changes Everything

Brigitte