Researchers at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham will use a $1.9 million grant from the
National Institute on Aging to determine how computer use and social media
activities can enhance seniors’ quality of life. The five-year study will
include 300 residents at 15 Alabama assisted living communities who will engage
in activities such as blogging, social networking, e-mailing, and accessing
health-related information online.
Among various aspects of
the study, researchers will focus on how social networking sites by seniors in
assisted living communities enhances their personal interactions and
relationships, says University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) sociologist and
principal investigator Shelia Cotten, Ph.D. Read the UAB press release, “Grandma’s
on Facebook.”
The latest issue of Assisted Living Executive reports on
social media engagement among senior living residents in “Tools of Engagement”
(see the sidebar called “Senior, Social, Savvy”). The magazine reports on
recent data from comScore, a media measurement firm, that says Internet use is
growing nearly twice as fast among people 65 and older than any other age
group. Read more and comment on that story and others on Assisted Living Executive’s Facebook
page or ALFA’s blog.
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