Well, guess I have my question answered. Seems like more people like it than don't. I have a girlfriend that said she would help me if I decide.
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Lois

I'm on, too, and am glad of it. I think this response will be the 26th reply; all but three of us like/love it. Very cool!

I'm 73 and dropped out. It became VERY invasive. Often
I would be surfing other sites and there would be a facebbook question oe interuption of some sort. When I
just stopped using it for a while, I kept getting notices
that there were messages for me over and over again.
Finally decided to check out the "messages" and there were
none. So I just quit the site, in my opinion I thought
of it as a pest.

Not a senior yet, but will not do social networking. Even if you are not posting personal stuff, you can't control what friends will post to you. Once your personal info is out there in cyberspace, it's out there. I googled my own name once and not only is my unlisted phone number on line, but also my home address and even directions to get to my house. Also any letters I ever wrote to an editor and a petition I once signed in front of the grocery store.

My best friend is a senior and comes from a cold state, now lives here in the sun. Every winter people she hasn't seen since high school find her on Facebook and ask if they can come and spend the winter at her house.

I have a facebook page but only because my tech team did it when I had my business and they produced my website. They also set up a blog and kept it going with one of my staff, tho I shut it all down wehn I closed the storefront a couple of years ago. I do still have facebook but don't use it. I often barely have time to check in here let alone get into facebook. I think I pay more attention to Linked In.

i am 64 and i've been on facebook for about 3 years. i do play some of the games and have made a lot of great friends on there. i'd be lost without it!! ;)

I'm 61 and love FB.

Linda

I meant to add that you don't have to put your phone number, email address, home address, city, town, state, marital status or ANYthing you don't want on it.

Facebook itself doesn't know anything about you...everything on your page is there because "you" put it there, not FB.

Yep I am too on fB and enjoy it..

m.boston Thanks for takeing the time to help me.I will print your answer and refer back to it each time i open face book.thankyou and God bless you.

I think it's fine that someone your age is on it and you may really enjoy it.

I just want to point out that even though you can and many do set their pages more private that you should treat any pictures or info that you put out there as "public".

There are too many bells and whistles (that change) and gray areas to ever think your stuff is truly private or just shared amoung certain friends.

I am on the lower end of Senior Citizenship and I am on FB. I've found old high school and college friends there, and also keep up with my family. However, my own two sons won't "friend" me! Ha.

The worst aspect of FB is that it is such a time suck. I spend too much time there. I never post anything that I would not want the entire world to see and am cautious of what I say about anyone else. There is no such thing as privacy on the web.

Scarlett and others, yes, all that info is available. That's Google. What does that have to do with fb? And for all opposed, why aren't you worried about being here? Your ISPs are available, just for the looking, to anybody who wants to look.

Others have said it: If you don't want your stuff on fb, don't put it there. Easy! You can still get a lot out of fb by reading and never posting. Facebook for me is fun. I don't post much, but I read a lot about and look at lots of pictures of old friends, relatives I haven't seen in years, pics my kids post of my gkids, etc. I would miss an awful lot if I wasn't on fb.

I'm almost 62 and I've been on it a few years. It's one of the first sites that I check everyday. I stay connected with my hometown friends, my great nieces and nephews and a lot of my former students. Love it.

Goldy - once you go through and choose your settings (friends only, etc) you will not have to do it again unless Facebook changes how things are done. Every once in a while, they will do something but you are notified and generally some of your friends will mention it on their posts.

Good luck and my advice is to just keep everything simple and choose "friends only". Everyone is right in that you limit the info you want on it.

I joined a few years ago to keep in touch with the grands and their kids. I was contacted to be friends with many, many people who had been students when I was the high school secretary, so that was fun to be in contact with them, even though many of them are now grandparents!

Yes, I have been on facebook for about 4 years now. I connected with old school chums from high school, and college. It is also great for keeping up with family that live far away...my nephew is in the service and we like to keep up with him especially. Also, I love seeing pictures of my family and friends instantly. It is great in my opinion. You can be as private as you want to be with FB, there are privacy settings that let you decide what is public, for friends, or just for your own eyes.

Are any of you senior citizens on facebook
No, and I, like ravencajun, never will be

I meant to add that you don't have to put your phone number, email address, home address, city, town, state, marital status or ANYthing you don't want on it.
I thought your 'real name and address' was required info when you joined up. I was thinking that if it was discovered that false info had been given, that your account would be deleted, without any notice.

Here is a link that might be useful: facebook privacy lawsuits

"Facebook itself doesn't know anything about you..."

I was just going to remark on this too, chemocurl.Facebook
knows absolutely everything you post on there.

Please be careful if you are on FB -- you do know how
the site is financed. "You" are basically sold for
advertising. And, the site is "ripe" with hackers
and idiots that think it is funny to place a virus.

Not my business, I know, but please be careful.

No. I tried it but it felt like an invasion of privacy. It made me terribly uncomfortable.

I'll add also that I get Facebook invites via my email and I never recognize the email addy, or name that is inviting me. I think it comes from a Facebook 'invite addy or something, so I've just blocked that address in my email. Viola!

Sue

I am 70 and am on FB...but I am very selective as to who I accept as a "friend"....just mostly family and a few friends. I NEVER play any of their games....I think that is where a lot of spam/junk gets started.

As I said above, "Facebook itself doesn't know anything about you..." and that's true. The only info FB has about you is what YOU TELL IT, so just don't tell it anything you don't want out there. You can use a nickname if you want to, and I have never put my home address or ANY personal information there.

There are blank fields for you to fill out, but you do NOT have to fill them out...I didn't.

I used my real name and the fact that I'm married, and that's all FB knows about me. I even gave it a "junk" email address. If I had wanted to, I could have easily used a nickname rather than my real name...again, FB doesn't know anything except what YOU tell it. It's a blank canvas.

I believe that you can set your privacy level to "friends", but those friends might have their privacy level set to "friends of friends". I think that you hand over any control you might have to the internet at large. Just another concern to think about!

I quit fb and glad I did. Just as fast to email (and you can even send pictures and send to a group of people with the click of the send button ;)

im 61 and have been on facebook for almost 4 yrs and i love it i have almost 700 friends they are family ex family members & gamers & my goldstar parents family i have been online since 1998 with webtv & i have a private group for my girls and i to post things just for us 3... private or closed/secret groups can not be seen by anyone that does not belong to the group even though it shows up on your homepage

I had my DH create a facebook page for me so I could go on and see my grandbaby's pictures on his mother's FB page. But I've never signed on to it. I'm not sure my page is still even active.

I'm not a very social person and don't care to "reconnect with old friends" as they advertise. DH is on his all the time.

I am in my late 50's.

No, just use emails, phone, cards. I spend enough time on the computer and am not interested.

Yes, have been on it for several years. I belong to a number of Genealogy groups for different states where ancestors lived, some groups for butterflies and hummingbirds and gardening. I have reconnected with a couple of lost friends and stay in touch with local friends as well. I don't post many pictures of grandchildren at the request of son and DIL. I am careful as to what I do post. I do use it for private messages but you have to be observant and make sure to use it correctly.

Yep, I'm a senior on FB. I never wanted to use it but a friend convinced me. Only put what you want the whole world to see on it. Other wise I like it for some things.

I'm on FB and I love it. I keep in touch with family who live all around this county and other countries. I've also reconnected with people I went to school with in two states. This would never have happened without FB. I'm don't put a lot of personal info on there because I don't have that much to say. I'm not paranoid about what's out there. If someone wants to do one harm they will find a way with or w/o social media.

I doubt I'll ever use FB. I'm not polite enough to feign interest in constant updates on what somebody ate or their weather. From what's been said in this thread, FB posts sound a lot like the those carefully edited annual Christmas letters, only *daily*, and with more trivia thrown in. It sounds like the media barrage, where there's a lot more time to fill than there is *news* to report.

I'd like to ask: If you spend time on FB every day...how much time, and exactly what is it that you *love*? How would you 'sell' me on it? Can you be more specific than 'keeping in touch'? Do you post something every day? What? Would you suffer withdrawal if you stopped?

I use the groups I belong to more than anything else. There are all kinds of groups available, so if you are interested in gardening, you can share info on plants for your area, some arrange plant exchanges, etc. Since I am into genealogy, I have joined numerous groups for states, counties, etc where ancestors lived. When we were planning a trip to do some family history research, I asked people for places to visit, where to stay, restaurants, etc. The people were very helpful, provided me with phone numbers and hours that libraries and courthouses were open. I think if you have a particular interest in something, FB is another way to find those who share your interest. I don't play games on it, we do use Face Time once in a while, its just another way to communicate where you can see the other person.

You don't have to put your picture on Facebook. Put a picture of a flower, your pet, or whatever you like. What you put or don't put on your page is 100% up to you. My mom is 81 and finally figured out how to use the camera in her tablet to post pictures from her tablet to Facebook. Now I see the beadwork she's working on and today she posted a photo a her Dutch pea soup she has on the stove, simmering. Yum!

So...you don't check in on your 'page' every day? This is more like an impromptu visit with a neighbor who happens to be in his or her yard at the same time you are? Someone you run into at the grocery, post office, etc.?

Debby -- Is it easier for your mom to show you her photos on FB than if she sent you an email with them?

MBoston -- I would go to a TripAdvisor forum to ask about a location we planned to visit. Or, I'd ask *here*. LOL

Yeppers. Am OLD and on facebook. I clown around there more than here. I keep up with a lot of kters there too. Many of which left the table for various reasons. I put a pic of Schultz on the header...no one wants to look at this wrinkled up old broad anyway. LOL.

You could Chisue, but the people on genealogy forums are interested in the history of the area you are visiting and since they live there, they have lots of , "you should talk to.... or make sure you visit..." One person I met actually did some legwork for us and the gal at the courthouse had documents pulled for us before we got there.

I don't have a Facebook presence (and don't need one). I do have an account on LinkedIn, which is a business-oriented quasi-equivalent for keeping track of contacts and their career moves.

My wife has an account and we both laugh AT (not with) so many people whose activity reports make you wonder why THEY think anyone cares about their views or what they do every day. We'll joke "where did Patty have lunch yesterday", but it's not so funny, because she (as others) will often have a complete report with photos. It's sad.

I was about to comment and realized I did four years ago. I have to look at dates more carefully. I'm still on FB and get most of my news from there. I sign on to anything that interests me...politics, cats, dogs, history, antiques, old houses.Only once in awhile do I post anything personal. I did when I congratulated my grandson for being the 4th fastest high school runner in PA. Stuff like that. I don't post when I'm out to eat or doing mundane things. I reconnected with two college roommates on FB, but sadly most HS friends aren't on there, but my hometown has a page. It's fun to go there and look at all the old pictures and events of our town.

I'm 69, and have been on FB for years. My picture has always been one of my parrots.

It's nice to keep in touch with people. I do like my groups best -- I have a lot of interests, and it's nice to meet other people who share them.

Yes, I am old and been on FB for several years....and probably spend too much time on there. I love keeping up with family and friends and especially love seeing pictures of their families, events going on in our little town, etc..

I was thinking about this today as DH and I started watching "Mistress America". The batty 30-year-old gal who is dancing as fast as she can through life to avoid her pain counsels her 18-year-old step sister about life. (Makes me spout Valley Girl Speak: AS IF!) She says you have to keep selling yourself on FB and other media.

The Chicago Tribune has a weekly column reminding people to do this, too. Advice to job-seekers is to eliminate anything dumb that you ever posted anywhere because a potential employer will search your name and find it!

Why has this happened? Don't people ever actually MEET one another anymore -- get to KNOW one another? Doesn't anyone personally INTRODUCE friends to one another? Is anyone just LIVING a genuine life, not constantly SELLING?

The whole "Friending" thing always sounded to me like Junior High. I had no idea how it had spread to 'adults'. I read a couple of letters in the Agony Aunts columns where people said they had become depressed by reading all the Wonderful Lives that Other People (not they) were posting about. The solution? Stop reading this carefully crafted stuff.

I'm 64 and love Facebook. Without it wouldn't be able to keep up with family. I also love playing the games. I set up different categories for everyone. I have a category for family, one for my game friends, one for my relatives who leaves crazy comments. I also have news, tv shows and other categories.

I think I'm fine with emailing friends individually and chatting here, on the KT.

wildchild -- I never ever sign up at a news service, blog or anything with my FB account. That solves that problem.

FB is also the only place I sign up with my real name (other than places I need to go to for billing purposes like my credit cards, PayPal, Amazon...).

I like FB -- I have no interest in the games, and indeed under your settings you can block them from showing up on your feed (if many of your friends are playing). What I do like is the fact I've reconnected with many folks I used to know in high school and college, and I can keep tabs on family and some of their fascinating adventures. Also, new friends who move around the country a lot.

I'm usually on there about once maybe twice a week -- more active right now since I am still out on worker's comp.

PS, I don't consider myself a senior citizen yet, but I am 62... (I'm still middle aged, yes??)

chisue, considering she has over 100 friends on Facebook, not just me, yes: it's easier for her to share a photo on facebook than email each of us. And this way, we can all share a conversation with her about it and not get 100 emails. Her page is private, as is mine. If you were to search me, you would only see my public photos. And if any of you add me to FB, you would only see certain posts and photos that I choose to share with all my friends. I use the 'lists' very well on FB.

debby -- Thanks. I'm probably in the minority, I'm an only child of an only child (my mother), and my father's family signed off on me (and her) after a divorce. DH is also an 'only'. So...no extended family and only a few distant friends to keep up with (via phone and email).

Facebook isn't just about "friending" people you know face-to-face. It's about networking with people who have the same interests you have. If it wasn't for Facebook, I wouldn't talk to my cousins, who ALL live in The Netherlands. None of us like letter writing. Their emails get lost in all the spam I get. I have a lot of co-workers on FB and we have silly conversations on FB that we can't have at work. We don't all work the same shifts, so it's nice to talk on FB when it's convenient for us. I have friends who live in the US. We are a group of women (I mentioned our private group here a few days ago), and a few of us have met face-to-face. We used to use YahooGroups, but Facebook is so much easier to use. I belong to several colouring groups, photography groups, Calgary groups, etc., to get information directly from others. I learn more through FB about my hobbies than I do through Google, although quite often when I ask a question, I'll get sent to google... lol Facebook is addictive. It's fun. It's my way to keep up with my family because we are all so busy with our families, jobs and life in general. Do I really care what someone ate for breakfast? Nope. And they're probably not interested in what I ate either. But we post pictures and sometimes someone will say, "hey! You have a recipe for that? It looks delicious!". There is so much more than posting the food you eat or how the weather is.

chisue, I'm sorry to hear that! Nobody should be alone. It's a fear I have for my grandson. He's an only child (so far) and has no cousins. My other two children will not have children, and my daughter in laws sister is in no rush at all to have kids. And I know my son and daughter in law cannot have another child for a few years, *if* they decide to have more. I would really hate for him to grow up alone. Family is so important to me. Probably because I grew up with just my parents and 3 sisters. I have no idea what it is like to hang out at a relatives, or spend the night with a grandparent. I only went to The Netherlands once (9 years ago) and it was so awesome having dinner at my aunts and meeting my cousins. I only have six cousins. LOL When I hear of families that don't speak, and they live so close it makes me sad because I want to speak to mine.

I met a woman on FB 14 years ago when I first went on the kitchen forum. We were both considering and eventually both got soapstone for our counters. We became good friends and email each other every day or so for 14 years. Even though we never met, she's a good friend of mine. As I said I get most of my news there.I subscribe to Mother Earth, Daily kos, huff post and get news sometimes faster than the major news sites (NBC,CNN)themselves.