Business
Kenya: Senior citizens embrace social media
The social media craze is catching up with senior citizens in Kenya as more elderly people embrace the sites that have revolutionised human interaction across the world.
As in many other countries, social media, mainly Facebook and Twitter in Kenya is presumably used by people aged between 18 and 30, who are considered more tech-savvy.
However, more elderly people aged 50 and above, many who grew up in the era when there was no internet, computers, mobile phones and video games, are embracing the sites as the influence of social media spreads. They want to keep up with the fast-paced technology, connect with the younger generation and communicate with their loved ones.
Sixty-five-year-old John Kivindu, a resident of Komarock, a middle-income residential area in Nairobi, is among elderly persons in Kenya who are making use of Facebook.
Kivindu visits a cybercafé in the estate at least thrice a week to communicate with his children. On this day, January 19, Kivindu saunters into the cybercafé with five photos, which he wants to upload on his Facebook page.”I want to stick this on the computer,” he tells the attendant Martin Ngolo, who interprets that he wants them posted on Facebook.
