Social media defines the value of aging

July 24, 2:30 PMSF Boomers ExaminerSuzanna Stinnett

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I’m drawing parallels.
 

• The most useful online tools are those which have grown over time, aged, adapted, and renewed themselves to fit the changing social environment.
• The most valued social media have high cross-connective capability. They tend toward integration of multiple platforms.
• Well-supported aging brains  have the same traits: Adaptive, highly integrated, self-renewing, making use of accumulation of data. (Fritjof Capra described healthy living systems as having these same characteristics.)

We view a tech tool that has been around for ten years as a dinosaur – and if it is still useful, smart, and engaging, we’re in awe.

I view our aging population the same way, so I put out a lot of energy trying to inspire people to stay engaged, renew their interest, adapt along with technology, and play in the social environment. As you may have noticed.

Which leads to my own definition of “senior moment.” Quoting my own glossary,  a senior moment is:

    The moment of “aha” when yet another innovation comes together as a result of our activated brains. When a senior citizen provides an integration of concepts, a brilliant innovation, or makes some connection that no one else could think of. The product of an experienced brain which is functioning at a high level. Only people who have been around the sun fifty times or so are capable of these moments.

So. Can we take those decades-rich banks of information across the millennia? Perhaps. Imagine Wikipedia as cyberstorage of our accumulated knowledge. Maybe someone’s already done that. Wikipedia is a great example of the positive effects of aging, as it has grown into a huge and very interesting resource. I've begun to recognize elderly people as walking national treasures, resources and friends who deserve great care.

--Suzanna

Read more about blogging as a social tool