Within no time they were soon finding and reconnecting with old high school friends and co-workers It became increasingly apparent that more than finding information, the engagement with their social networks and sense of renewed relevance was the most significant gain for older users. “It’s this kind of bigger sense of mattering, in the social world, if you will,” Cotten explains. “You’re not just something that’s been pushed off to the wayside anymore. You still have consequence.” Over the course of the eight weeks, 10 to 15 percent of the group went on to engage in more advanced technology like social networking, joining Facebook and Eons, an online community for the Boomer set. Several of the students created Facebook profiles during an office hour session, joining initially to keep in touch with family members. “She’s a junior in college and I get to see all the things she’s doing — all the sorority things and such. It makes me feel about 80 years younger,” she says. “And when I see what she says about her boyfriend and what’s she’s going to do, I can get on the telephone and say, ‘Don’t you do that!’” Carol Boulding, a 79-year-old from Auburn, […]