Don't accept a 'friend' request from anyone you don't know.

Don't share personal information, such as bank account numbers or Social Security numbers.

Sands, a retired computer instructor at Metropolitan Community College's Blue River campus, offers these tips for people who worry about online security: 'People are worried: Is my security going to be breached?' said Marvin Sands, 71, of Independence, the new social media volunteer for AARP Missouri. That's one reason many have been reluctant to jump on the social media bandwagon. Indeed, many older people fear the loss of their privacy or worse - identity theft. 'I just don't take the time.'Įspino, too, is somewhat baffled by family members who seem to post anything and everything about themselves for the world to see.

'I just don't have a real interest in posting my day-to-day activities,' she said. Louis, checks her Facebook account mainly to keep track of family all over the country. 'It was great when I wanted to see something special from my grandkids, like my granddaughter dressed up for her prom or seeing a new baby,' Espino said of Skype. Grandparents, in particular, find they can shrink that distance through Skype, a free Internet service that turns a computer into a video phone. Many extended families have members scattered across the country or the globe. One in three of them uses social networking sites such as Facebook, Skype or Twitter.

But they are catching up.Ī survey earlier this year by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that for the first time, more than half of adults 65 and older are online. Just a few years ago, Espino would have been an anomaly among older Americans, who have generally been slower to take up computers, the Internet and social networking. 'They hate to take pictures for Grandma, but they love to take pictures for their friends,' she said with a chuckle.

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