Lata Pandit, 50, is a housewife who makes sure to update her Facebook account everyday in-between household chores and responsibilities. Ever since she was introduced to this social networking site, she admits that she got hooked instantly. Keeping track of the time difference, she spends hours talking to her children who are abroad and at the same time catches up with her old friends as well.
“The reason we use Facebook is not to make new friends or talk to complete strangers but just to reunite with our old friends with whom we have had lost contact somewhere,” says Lata who has already retired from her work.[break]
Nistha Rayamajhi
Fifty year old Lata Pandit regularly uses Facebook to stay in touch with her children who are living abroad.
Lata has always been inquisitive when it comes to technologies, so she took a basic computer course some twenty years back. “Our generation wasn’t as privileged as today as there was no facilities of the Internet, let alone computers during our days,” she says.
She still remembers the time when there were few cyber cafes in the capital that used to provide Internet services. “There used to be very few females in the cyber cafes and when I entered one, there used to be no female users at all who were of my age. But I had to check my emails anyhow, so I used to make regular visits,” she says.
Social network got a whole new meaning in 2004 with the introduction of Facebook. With currently 1.11 billion users, its popularity is soaring day by day, and recently, it’s the older generation that’s caught the “Facebook bug.” Besides that, there have been ample options of social media like blogs, social networks, podcast and video sharing through which people stay connected. While the use of social media has grown dramatically across all age groups, the older generation also seems enthusiastic when it comes to experimenting with new networking tools.
Like Lata, checking Facebook pages has been a daily ritual for 53-year-old Sangita Pradhan. But the only difference is that she doesn’t have her personal account and uses her husband’s instead. She is a novice when it comes to using the computer or the Internet but she was easily drawn by the idea of Facebook.
“I make sure to check picture updates of our relatives so that I know what they are up to,” says Sangita who finds it more pragmatic to use her husband’s account. She still struggles to figure out how Facebook really works as she is often puzzled and doesn’t exactly know how to switch to a different profile from one. Thus her Facebook experience is just limited to viewing pictures only.
On the other hand, social networking sites have been a perfect platform for people like Lata who regularly chat and share personal updates with her friends and cousins.
Lata explains how networking sites like Skype has been beneficial to communicate with her children on a daily basis without any hassle. Besides that, it has been a perfect way to kill time when she has not much to do.
“Besides connecting with friends and family, I’ve been using the Internet to research on many issues, including health. I’m having menopause problems and I got a lot of tips through it,” shares Lata.
Though it is relatively easier for people like Lata who are accustomed to using the computer, Sangita is ignorant about even the basic computer skills. But that hasn’t hindered her efforts to explore her newfound interest.
There have been times when she has sent Facebook friend request unknowingly to strangers but she’s slowly getting the hang of it. “My husband and I used to have a good laugh when he found out that I used to like irrelevant pages or comment on someone else’s picture. But he has been patient in teaching me how it actually works,” she says.
Her 20-year-old daughter Kritika Pradhan, however, has been pushing her mother to create an account of her own. She recently opened a mailing account for Sangita and has been teaching her how to use it in an effort to make her more confident.
“I can see that my mother really enjoys using Facebook. So why not have her own personal space in Facebook? Moreover, everyone has one as that’s a hip thing now. On top of that, I’m planning to go abroad soon, so in that way, she can send me emails directly without depending on my dad who usually keeps very busy,” she says.
On the other hand, a rather timid Sangita says, “I don’t have many friends, so there’s no point creating my own account. My husband is comfortable with me using his account just to view the pictures, so there’s not a problem.”
While some support and are positive about their parents using the social media tool, there are many who seem skeptical when their parents join the same networking space that they are in.
“I had no options but to accept my fathers’ friends requests on Facebook and it daunted me that he would keep track of everything that I posted on it. That’s why I recently blocked him and he has no idea about it,” chuckles Bipin Shrestha, a 22-year-old Internet buff who prefers to live in his own bubble.
While social networking sites may mean more of a privacy thing for youngsters likes Bipin, it has a totally different meaning for the older generation. As adults enter a stage where they have more family responsibilities, obligations or busy professional life, they may find it hard to maintain social life. So for them, social media plays an active role to stay connected with their friends and family as it also opens doors to maintain relationships by constantly being in touch with each other.
Geeta Kanel, 51, lives a busy life as she works as joint secretary at Business and Professional Women (BPW), an NGO that works in raising awareness regarding women empowerment. Since her work entails spreading more consciousness among females regarding self-development, she has been using social media as an important tool. She gets a lot of tips and maintains her relations with her circle of likeminded people by using tools like Facebook.
Besides that, like Lata, she has three children who are all abroad and it is through social networking sites that she has been able to stay in touch with them regularly.
“Not so long ago, I had to call my children through a phone card which used to be really expensive. Now I can talk to them daily through Skype, that too for free,” she says.
Other than that, it has been really easier for her to get in touch with her old friends who were all scattered and busy with their own lives.
“We plan events and outings basically though social networking sites like Facebook. This is a new form of communication that we like to follow. It has definitely made the world smaller, at least for us,” shares Geeta who is usually seen scrolling through her Facebook page for updates on her smartphone.
While many use social media as a tool to stay informed and connected, there are parents like 58-year-old Dipak Gurung who have used it to keep track of their kids.
He had first opened a Facebook account to keep track on his teenage son who was glued to the internet 24/7. “I once happened to accidentally check on my son’s profile and I was worried to see the conversations he had with his friends that gave a hint of his speedy careless lifestyle,” he says.
But Dipak soon enough realized that rather than spying on his kid, it was better to confront and advise him in person. The good thing that happened to him however was that he got reconnected with his childhood friend after forty long years. “It is really magical how things work through social media if used for good purposes which otherwise couldn’t have been possible in reality,” he says.
People have been networking for centuries through telephones, clubs, organizations or various informal and traditional network means. While social media created a new buzz in terms of taking communication to the next level, it is not just youngsters but the older generation too who are intrigued by it. Though there are differences with the generation gap, social networking sites like Facebook has been a common point that merges both the old and the young with their need to communicate.
nistha.rayamajhi11@gmail.com
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