The Role of Social Media in Connecting Seniors With Potential Partners

The popularity of the online dating world has really exploded in the past few years, and it’s no wonder why.

Everyone seems to want to get in on the action and try their hand at finding love in the digital age. Not to mention, a lot of these advanced dating websites and apps make connecting with people much easier than it has ever been to find love in a few swipes.

But one of the standout groups that has been most affected by the draw and benefits of online dating is the seniors on the apps.

Senior users are trying out online dating more and more frequently now. There are a number of benefits to getting seniors online and connecting with one another and they are taking full advantage of all that the world of online dating has to offer them.

While senior-oriented dating sites are wonderful to use, especially if you’re someone who might not be as comfortable navigating your way around the internet, or if you would prefer a more easy-to-use platform on which you could find love, seniors are connecting with each other in more ways than just their dating apps.

Gone are the days when seniors and those who might be a bit more mature in their years are confused about how to turn on the TV or make a FaceTime call. Now seniors, specifically those who are 55 and older, know their way around the technological world and can navigate it with ease and joy.

And in today’s day and age, seniors are using their dating apps and other online forms of connection, like social media, to reach out to all kinds of people and form connections that they might have never thought were a possibility before.

All of the sudden, the world is open to them and they are taking it by storm.

Gone are the days of isolation and loneliness and the days of connection through online platforms and social media are here.

While no one might have expected the senior audience to blow up these online databases, nor that dating apps and social media would be half as popular as they are with this crowd, we’re thankful for the impact that it’s had on the senior community and all of the ways that the more mature crowd can now reach out to all kinds of people and make connections online.

Social media and dating apps have always been about connecting people with one another and making the world feel a little more whole and a little less isolating. Thankfully now, the senior crowd is getting that memo and they’re jumping on the digital world’s bandwagon in full force and taking complete advantage of the opportunities that these online platforms have given them.

In fact, some social media platforms work better for seniors to find their potential partners than dating apps can!

If you’re curious how more and more seniors are using social media to get connected with people and potentially find love in their online communities, keep reading!

The Use of Social Media for Seniors

Although the thought may sound a little crazy when it first comes up, social media is one of the most wide-reaching online platforms that everyone is using right now.

Whether your preferred platform is Facebook, Instagram, or even TikTok, no one can deny the power of social media and the draw of it.

One of the biggest reasons why social media is so powerful and why so many people use all or one of their social media platforms to connect with people daily is because these platforms are all so universal and so easy to use.

If you want to connect with your family and see how your kids or grandkids are growing up, you need to know how to navigate social media. If you want to get plugged into your community and connect with the people in your neighborhood in an easy-to-manage online group, sign up for Facebook. Basically, if you want to know what’s going on in the world around you, you more than likely need to at least think about investing your time and energy into learning about and how to use social media.

Also, it’s good to note that social media has been around for a bit by now, so even the least technologically savvy users have had ample time to figure out how these popular apps work. Facebook was created in 2004, almost 20 years ago. If someone is currently a senior, that means that one of the most popular social media platforms was created when most of them were still in their thirties or forties, still a prime time to learn the ropes of the online world and understand how to use a social media platform.

Instagram was created only six years later, making the platform currently 13 years old. And while Instagram is arguably a little harder to navigate and statistically less popular for the older demographic, the social media app was modeled mostly after Facebook and it’s relatively easy to navigate, no matter how old the user might be.

Most seniors have already caught onto the trend and the ease that comes with using social media when they want to connect with anyone and everyone that they can online in the easiest and most accessible way.

According to a study conducted by the Pew Research center in 2021, over 83% of seniors, ages 50 to 64, said that they owned a smartphone, and thus, had access to the most popular social media with the click of a button. Furthermore, over 45% of people ages 65 and older said that they regularly log onto their social media websites like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. And, if we’re getting very general, over 96% of adults between the ages of 50-64 use the internet every single day. This is compared to the statistic of 75% of adults ages 65 and older who also rely on the internet’s magic daily just goes to prove how integral the internet, social media, and the online world is for today’s seniors.

While what they’re doing online and how they’re using their profiles differs from person to person, it’s good to note that a great deal of the senior population feels comfortable navigating their way around the world of social media and the internet.

There are a number of reasons that we absolutely adore the use of social media for seniors and why we like to encourage those who might be later in their years to get comfortable with the idea of connecting to people online in all kinds of ways. But one of our favorite things that have become an often occurrence as a result of social media is relationships.

It’s always been said by the creators of these apps that the main goal of social media is to connect people with one another and to reach across borders and boundary lines in order to do so, and now that’s a possibility.

Social media is one of the best platforms that seniors can use to find and create real-life relationships that will stay around for years.

Social Media Allows Seniors to Reconnect with Old Friends and Colleagues

Do you ever think of the one that got away? Do you have someone that got away? what do you think about what would happen if you were able to reconnect with them after years spent away from each other?

Call us hopeless romantics, call us the dreamers with our heads in the clouds, call us unrealistic, but you have to admit that it would make a great story for someone who has been pining over their long-lost lover from years ago and could reconnect with them through social media.

While some may call that scenario, I’ve actually seen it play out right before my very eyes.

My two aunts and my mother decided to go to my oldest aunt’s high school reunion a few years ago. While they were at the party, my youngest aunt noticed her high school crush. They talked for a bit and connected, but then the night was over and nothing came out of the interaction that night in particular.

But, thanks to the power of some light social media stalking and their high school class page on Facebook, my aunt was able to find her crush online, send him a friend request, and start chatting.

They’re married now, so you can assume that it went well.

It’s no wonder that social media is often referred to as a tool that people use to connect with others all across the world. Whether you’re a part of your high school class of 1964 Facebook page or you just like to take advantage of the Facebook algorithm and see who the internet thinks you might know, social media is a powerful force that can reconnect people who you might never have thought of before.

It’s also good to note that just because you’re not in any of these Facebook groups yet or maybe you don’t think they exist doesn’t mean that there’s not a possibility you finding your high school crush some 40 years after the two of you graduated from high school.

Maybe take a moment on the apps in the next few days and start poking about your social media platforms to see if there are any names that you might recognize.

We also suggest poking around potential groups that you might be a part of or that are shuffled to the bottom of your Facebook page because they don’t seem relevant. If you’re on Instagram, do a bit of digging into different alumni accounts and see if your old high school or college has an online presence.

There are multiple people whose jobs are currently dedicated to making sure that every school’s alumni programs are well taken care of and that past graduates have multiple resources to reconnect with other alumni. The schools mostly do this in order to help them get generous donations, but you can always use that to your advantage.

Because of social media and the marketing geniuses that these apps are, reconnecting with people and finding old chums and flights about whom you might have completely forgotten is one of the many benefits that having social media can provide for seniors.

Taking a bit of time to explore the possibilities of what might have been might mean the difference between finding your long-lost love or not. And let’s be honest, we all want a good love story at the end of the day.

Social Media Lets Seniors Feel Comfortable Talking to People that They Know

Although a number of seniors love to take advantage of the wonderful world of dating apps and online dating websites, some seniors, no matter how technologically advanced they might be, still can’t wrap their heads around the world of talking and flirting with strangers. And you know what? We get it!

Thankfully, when you’re on your Facebook profile, you’re more than likely only going to see the people on your friend list and only be able to message them. This familiarity adds a layer of comfort that a lot of people cannot get when they log onto any old dating site.

While there is something to be said about the power of anonymity and the fact that, if you don’t know someone, it might be a little easier for you to ask them out, flirt with them, be bold, or anything that might otherwise be a bit embarrassing if you know the person you’re talking to personally, it’s also nice to actually have a pre-established relationship with the people you’re connecting with.

Dating sites can sometimes be hectic and anxiety-inducing, especially if you’re trying to figure out if you would even get along with the person you’re messaging. Why would you put yourself through all of that stress and those questions when you could message someone who you already know that you like?

Social media platforms are also nice because they provide multiple ways in which you can mask your sliding into their direct messages. If you’re interested in someone and they just posted something on Facebook that you have a strong opinion about, message them about it and see where the conversation leads for the two of you!

If you see someone post an Instagram story that made you laugh, swipe up on it and share an emoji or message them about it.

You can be as casual and cool about messaging them as you would like to be, even if your end goal for the conversation is not casual at all.

And another reason that we love the direct message approach is that it starts an actual conversation. This is something that most dating apps miss because everyone is so focused on flirting and finding a partner. But when you start a relationship noting and talking about a shared interest, then you’re going to have a stronger foundation for the two of you and you will be able to know that the two of you can actually keep a conversation going, which is always important.

Social media is a great tool to connect with the people you already know about. This also adds a level of comfort and familiarity that most dating apps cannot provide.

Social Media is a Great Tool to Use When You Can’t Get Out

One of the reasons why social media and online dating in general have taken off in popularity during the last few years is because it’s harder to go out to meet people.

While social functions and events full of like-minded singles would be wonderful to have and to go to, they don’t exist as much anymore because online dating and the digital world have really taken the world by storm.

Because of the change and shift that has happened in the dating world during the past few years, it is not only encouraged, but often necessary for you to know your way around your social media platforms in order to be able to connect with the people around you and to hopefully form a relationship.

If the need is not enough to cause you to get on social media, these online platforms also just make dating and finding the connections that you crave much easier than ever before.

Plus, there’s a lot to be said about the benefit of being able to talk to the people that you know and see if there’s a spark between the two of you all from the comfort of your own home.

Even though it’s not for everyone, social media is one of the best ways that seniors from all over are making connections online.

One Final Word of Encouragement

If you’re trying to get out and reconnect or connect with people on social media, we just want to tell you how proud of you we are. I understand that it can be an incredibly humbling experience to feel as though you need to make connections with people later in your years and you might not particularly want to do this, but we see you and we’re so excited for what your journey will look like.

It can be really hard to get out of your comfort zone and use your social media platforms as a way to connect with people and even form relationships with them, but they’re such a great tool to use and we’re so excited to see what you do on them.

Good luck, you’re going to do great.