Do elderly people need Facebook?
-SHEETAL BHATT CHATAUT
-SHEETAL BHATT CHATAUT
Undoubtedly, in today’s globalised world, after the innovation of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg, we have all been trapped into it, regardless of where the people live -- in the cities or rural areas. Let us talk and discuss about Facebook usage in the context of Nepal.
Most of us in our country use Facebook in the form of communication as many people have either migrated abroad or are outside the country for foreign employment. And what better way to keep in touch than on Facebook. We all think that Facebook is one of the biggest inventions ever, and we all have become so addicted to it that we begin to surf the social site as soon as we have some free time. Our lives will never become idle even for a day as Facebook has become a part of our life.
The bitter truth is that people see the need to use Facebook even when they are in a difficult situation because we are addicted to it. On the one hand, it is a way of getting connected to people. On the other hand, it is a way of getting disconnected from the people. Among youngsters, its usage is understandable. But nowadays, we see even elder and senior people having a Facebook account. Do these elderly people really need a Facebook account, and if they do, why?
Senior people of the society are old, and constant use of the mobile phone, tablet or laptop to surf online, check the posts and so on have harmful effects on their health in comparison to the young people. Moreover, it has been observed that those belonging to the age group are so influenced by the posts or videos uploaded on the social media that they keep on sharing them with each other while at the same time being very influenced by the same.
The question here is, what can be done to stop the not so informative or senseless videos or posts? One alternative could be to tell them to read good books or ask their children or grandchildren to take them for an evening walk or talk to them whenever time permits.
Most of them have become so addicted that when they cannot check their account on Facebook, they become restless. Hence, the people of our generation should start thinking of how we can stop or minimise the use of social media sites, especially Facebook. We should at least try to initiate and motivate them to share useful, knowledgeable information or posts instead of being influenced by the pointless things being uploaded on the social sites.
THT
2019-mar-21
