This document summarizes a presentation on developing best practices for social media use in older adults. It discusses the benefits of social media use, such as reducing loneliness and increasing empowerment. Facilitating factors for social media engagement in older adults include openness to technology and ease of self-disclosure online compared to in-person. Best practices include showing clear benefits, linking virtual and real-world social networks, and building on existing interests. An example project called V2me provides older adults access to social media through a virtual coach, online social networks, and features to facilitate relationship building.

1. Social Media Use in Older Age – Developing Best
Practices
Anja K Leist
University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Netherlands
Kick-off Symposium: ‘Engaging generations...’ at the
IFA Global Conference on Ageing, Prague, Czech
Republic, May 30, 2012.

2. Social Media Use in Older Age
1. Effects of Social Media Use
2. Facilitating Factors in ICT Use
3. Developing Best Practices
4. An Example AAL Research Project Providing Access to
Social Media for Older Adults

3. Effects of Social Media Use of Older
Adults
1. Social Connectedness/Sense of Belongingness
• Alleviating loneliness by connecting with existing and new
contacts
• Getting support
2. “Empowerment”
• Self-efficacy, control beliefs

4. How to Engage Older Adults in Social
Media Use?
• Existing Barriers
– Privacy issues
– Views towards existing social networking sites
– Access: No social contacts facilitating access to ICT,
accessibility issues
• Facilitating Factors
– For ICT use in general: openness to ICT use, ICT experience
– For social media use: Disinhibition effect; self-disclosure easier
via ICT than in eye-to-eye contact

5. Developing Best Practices to Facilitate
Social Media Use in Older Age
• Show added value
 Benefits such as information, support, emotional rewards
 Benefits vary according to participation in network!
• Transfer between virtual and real world
– Use existing real-world social structures
– Use existing interests/needs

6. An Example of an AAL Project Providing
Access to Social Media for Older Adults

7. An Example of an AAL Project Providing Access
to Social Media for Older Adults
V2me (Virtual Coach reaches out to me)
• A mobile platform-based friendship enrichment and loneliness
prevention program
• Virtual Coach acting as mediator and friend
• Online Social Networking
– Via existing networking sites and online communication channels
– Features specifically designed for online social networking: Interest
groups/calendar function
– Social contacts stored in the system: can be activated by user, can be
established pro-actively by the system
– Social circles as basis for friendship enrichment program

8. V2me – The Social Circle

9. V2me – Initiating Contact with Others

10. V2me – Proactive System Engages User

11. Thank you for your attention!
Research supported by a FLARE 2 postdoctoral grant
funded by the National Research Fund Luxembourg.
V2me work presented on behalf of the V2me
consortium funded under the AAL Joint Programme.
www.v2me.org
anja.leist@uni.lu