How Seniors Can Stay Connected in the time of Social Distancing

by Alex Smith Internet Marketing

Social distancing is a term used by epidemiologists to describe the separation of people who are contagious from those who are healthy in order to reduce risk of transmission and prevent outbreaks.

Some examples of social distancing includes:

Closing schools during an outbreak of respiratory illness, like H1N1 (Swine Flu).
Closing churches, gyms, and movie theaters during an outbreak of the Norwalk Virus.
Quarantine during a time of disease pandemic (Highly contagious diseases that can spread quickly either through human to human contact or from animals to humans via bites)

As you can see social distancing is not just used in times of illness; it is also used during times of pandemic. With the recent cases in China of Avian Flu, I'm sure social distancing has become a very relevant topic. So how can seniors stay connected to the outside world, if senior housing facilities raise their gates and keep them apart from society?

Social Media Sites Have Opened Up New Doors for Seniors

In the last few years, social distancing has become more prevalent in general society. For example, it is not unusual to see a worker wearing a face mask while emptying your trash or coming into contact with public surfaces. Non-medical home care providers are often impacted by this type of behavior and may be faced with requests from seniors to reduce contact with the outside community. (Credit Information: https://metrolinacare.com/home-care-services)

Seniors and Non-Medical Home Care in the Age of Social Distancing

While this type of behavior can be a challenge for Non-Medical home care providers, there is one way they can attempt to work around it: Social media! Let's take a look at some statistics on how seniors are using social media:

- The number of individuals aged 50–64 who use social networking sites has increased to 62 percent (from 29 percent in 2008); and for those aged 65+, the increase is dramatic, with usage jumping to 42 percent from 14 percent.

- Seniors are more active on Facebook than the average social network user. In fact, more than half of them (57%) are on Facebook daily, compared to 42% of all social network users. On a weekly basis, 20% visit the site several times and only 16% say they "never" go to Facebook.

- The top reasons seniors use social media are: staying in touch with friends and family; keeping up with current events; and staying connected with groups from the past.

- Six in ten (59%) social network users who are 50 years of age or older join a group on these sites that is focused on health issues, and more than four in ten (43%) do so for their neighborhood, city, town, or community.

- Seniors spend an average of 12 hours per week on social media.

With statistics like these, Non-medical home care providers should encourage seniors to learn how to use social media sites and use them as a way to stay connected with the outside world.

While Non-medical home care providers may not be able to reduce isolation for seniors during times of social distancing, Non-medical home care providers can teach seniors how to use social media sites in order to stay connected with the outside world.