SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD H Devaraja Rao has been a member of the Orkut social networking site since 2007. An independent copy-writer, he's part of the site's online community that champions the cause of 'plain English.' Discussions on the site have helped him glean editing projects from as far away as the UK and also led him to start a personalised language service called 'askrao'.

At 10 am every morning, he's stationed at the computer, thumbing through the Chicago Manual of Style as he pockets Rs 300 a month to clear 20 doubts on English grammar for students and writers. From 3 pm to 5 pm, he plays the social networking field from Facebook to Linked In and most recently, Google Buzz. Twitter, on the other hand, teases Mr Rao's editing skills.

"Condensing my thoughts into 120 characters is challenging," he muses. Mr Rao, a former bank employee who lives in India's tech capital Bangalore, is part of the growing tribe of elderly users finding new life and vigour on social networking sites. More than ever before, seniors are finding themselves drawn online for the same reasons as young adults: to stay in touch with family and friends, meet new people from the comfort of home, bridge the generation gap, and even find jobs.

Sixty-three year-old Sunita Kumar, a former government employee, was looking to expand her social circle when she saw her 29-year-old daughter glued to Facebook. She decided to try the social networking site herself but was wary of intruding into the online space of her younger relatives. But she discovered to her surprise and joy that they had included her themselves soon enough she had a motley crew of old classmates and extended family on her list of 51 Facebook friends.

Struck by the site's magnetic ability to draw together a multi-generational mix, Ms Kumar started 'Hamari Antaakshari' from her profile page. This virtually connected group of nephews, cousins and nieces spread across the US and India converged onto her profile page to post what became a linked chain of Youtube videos.

Elders account for 7% of social netizens in India

"I TRY to grab at least half an hour in the morning or evening on the site and have goaded five others friends to join," said Ms Kumar. Contrary to popular perception, senior netizens now make up a significant proportion of the social networking universe. Some 6-7% of the around 30 million Indian users of social networking sites are over 60 years.

Facebook spokeswoman Elizabeth Linder says seniors are largely looking at pictures and reading posted stories but in some cases the desire to connect with family or friends is the sole reason to log on. Among those who love social networking sites for their ability to put the elderly in touch with near and dear is Mumbai-based Lata Hegde. Called 'hi-tech aunty' by younger relatives, the 60-year-old can't wait to sign onto the 350-member personalised family page of the Pades on Facebook. Lt Col (Retd) Niranjan Singh in turn banks on Geni.com to track family birthdays and anniversaries across Iran, the UK, India and US, right out of his Chandigarh home.

A recent Nielsen study suggests that Facebook is the third most visited site for those over 65 years in the US in November 2009 and that the number of unique visitors who signed on to such sites grew 53% in the past two years. In India, data for January from online ad network firm Komli media suggests that those over 60 years account for 6% of Facebook's India users and 4% of Orkut's India user base.

India's fourth largest social network Ibibo, for instance, has 3, 50, 000 males (almost 6% of the user base) over 60 years as registered users. Around 45% of these users are from smaller cities. "We have seen participation in web applications such as Sawaal, where users asks questions which get answered by senior netizens. The urge to give back to society is very great among seniors," says Ibibo's CEO Ashish Kashyap, said.

G K Karanth, professor of sociology at the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change, says competing demands mean that family members often restrict the amount of time the elderly spend on the phone. "Social networking then becomes an inexpensive way of holding on to several relationships without being monitored by others," he observes. At the same time, social media enables many physically dependent seniors to increase their relevance in the virtual world without taxing others. Sites such as Verdurez.com are not only dedicated to seniors but also offer post-retirement career opportunities. "Research has shown abundant benefits for companies who hire older workers as their experience results in higher productivity and lower absenteeism. We are seeing tremendous traction since we launched last year," says founder Ishita Sukhadwala.

Marketeers are also beginning to see senior social networkers, who usually have accumulated savings, as potential buyers of products or services. "So far, the users of social networking sites are largely the youth. But as the number of elderly users rises, brands centred around health products, travel packages and even premium lifestyles brands from watches to accessories would stand to gain. This is not happening in an organised fashion yet," says Prateek Srivastava, president-South at Ogilvy & Mather.

Moreover, while youngsters may not have the time to respond to surveys on health check ups, seniors would opt for it. "This data could then be connected to hospitals and monetised," says Paritosh Sharma, founder of Mumbai-based social media marketing firm UntilRoi.

Source: The Economic Times