On the 21st of March, a group of the M.Čobotas Third Age University (MČTAU) students-seniors took part in the seminar “What should we know about social networks?”, as one of the many activities of Get Online Week 2013 in Lithuania. It was arranged by Langas į ateitį and the telecommunication company TEO.

Seniors in social networks

Many of us seniors use the Internet as a source of knowledge and information, but we are still shy to enter social networks or use numerous useful services on the Internet. This seminar has changed our imagination that social networks are used only by young people, as we found out that there are Facebook and other social networks lovers among seniors as well.

It turned out that Lithuanian social networks, such as www.gyvi.lt, www.draugauki.me, www.facebook.com/senosfotografijos are pretty much enjoyed by adults and have lots of fans where they find new friends, exchange opinions, share knowledge and even solve problems. Seniors introduce their recollections about their friends and relatives, write diaries, share memories and old photos. We have been offered useful advices on personal data security, safe password creation, how to protect from fraud or avoid spam on the Internet.

Family tree

The most attractive part of the seminar was a practical demonstration of the possibility to build your family tree free of charge, using www.myheritage.lt  With the help of our children and grandchildren, let us build family trees until we remember the past of our parents and grandparents, until we still have old family records or letters. Let us check the information in the old church records or archives. The family tree might become a great present to the new generations!

Modern everyday life

We are still lacking behind the EU average when it comes to the computer literacy knowledge of our seniors. But a lot depends on us:  do we  have skills to use e-banking, shall we buy in the Internet shop, shall we register to the doctor online or buy online tickets to the theatre or concert?

If we lack the skills or knowledge,  we can always visit any internet access point at the public library where we are invited to get computer literacy training in groups or individually. If we show our interest and insist we will always get help from our kids and grandchildren who are so fluent in the virtual world and will gladly help us to discover the e-secrets of the net.

Mrs. Zita Žebrauskienė, rector of the Third Age university, expressed her thanks to Association “Langas į teitį” for organizing the seminar and said: “It is very  important for seniors to improve their computer literacy skills. Only then we will be safe. Not only online, but we will feel safer and modern in everyday life. We will gladly agree if more computer literacy classes are offered to us”.

Let us be literate, modern, independent, visible and audible not only in reality but in the virtual space as well!

Article written by the seminar participant Jadvyga Miniotaitė