Silver Surfers on the Net Turf In sharp contrast to the senior citizens of the past, today the over 60s are casting aside hobbies like gardening or knitting and surfing the Net turf is the new trend. Web enthusiastic seniors are actively exploring the new turf. Social networking sites like Facebook, twitter and friends re-united are just a few sites eagerly being used by older generations. Seniors find the web particularly useful to connect with friends and family. They are regularly hooking up to the Internet in order to keep up to date with the latest events in their social networks. Senior citizens are confidently using applications such as Skype and are comfortable in using wireless networks to connect to the internet.

Surfing is filling the gap in different ways. Only 2-3 years ago it was thought to be a lost opportunity for the elderly. However, the situation is rapidly changing. Senior citizens are making the most of the internet, flocking to the World Wide Web in order to maintain their standard of living and independence, primarily for the sake of connecting with friends and family in addition to health care matters. Clearly, silver surfers are seizing the waves.

The recent boom of older generations surfing social networking sites should not go unnoticed. The internet has many advantages for the elderly which have not been overlooked by the silver surfers. Possibilities such as buying medicine and shopping for groceries online have become one of the most popular uses of the web for senior citizens. E-books are another useful medium asfont formats can easily be modified and adjusted to eyesight capacity. . Moreover, many people who have retired feel that the Internet has widened their social span and helps them to fill their time.

Web savvy seniors hold on to their new turf. A steady increase in the use of the Internet by older generations has been recorded. The number of senior surfers on the web has doubled in many countries and this is expected to continue to rise steadily.Moreover, surfing the net has been recorded as the favorite past time for senior citizens in countries like the UK. In Belgium approximately 39 % of those over 50 years old report using the Internet and in the United States no less than 45%of those between 70 -75 years old say that they enjoy surfing the Web.

It is clear that the Internet is here to stay. A growing number of social networking sites are being developed for especially for senior citizens such as www.networkingforseniors.com and www.growingbolder.com. There is no doubt the silver surfers are growing bolder day by day and readily seizing waves on the NetTurf.