104-year-old Ivy loves to Twitter

By HARRY HAYDON
The Sun UK
Published: 15 May 2009
Photo: Bob Collier/PA Wire

Silver surfer Ivy Bean has become the oldest UK user of Twitter - at 103. The great gran decided to join the social networking site after getting bored with Facebook, where she had built up 4,800 friends. She proudly told her web readers yesterday: "I'm enjoying Twitter and having my photo taken - and I'm looking forward to Deal Or No Deal."

Ex-mill worker Ivy got a helping hand to smooth her switch to Twitter by calling in IT experts The Geek Squad. Boss Martin Dix said: "It's brilliant to help someone as inspirational as Ivy to get started and teach her about Twitter. She's already signed up to Facebook with 4,800 friends. She shows others that you shouldn't be frightened of technology."

Ivy's enthusiasm is spreading among her friends at Hillside Manor care home in Bradford, West Yorks. Manager Pat Wright said: "All the residents are taking a leaf out of her book. Four signed up for computer college. Others have joined Facebook or surf the net and enjoy themselves with ten-pin bowling on the games console."

Twitter membership figures are soaring, thanks to its popularity with celebrities such as US President Barack Obama, singer Britney Spears and TV star Stephen Fry. It appeals to youngsters because its snappy instant message system can spread idle chit-chat among a worldwide audience. But recent figures showed that people aged 45 to 54 are the site's leading users.

The Geek Squad has dubbed today Silver Surfers' Day. It aims to use it to encourage more elderly people to get online and start connecting with friends and family around the globe.

Blame it on Ivy!

We haven’t posted in a while, but we’re now on Facebook and most recently Twitter! I connected with Ivy via e-mail when I discovered her on Facebook and we enjoyed several conversations. I think it’s wonderful for this spunky centenarian to embrace today’s technology and certainly an inspiration for others. Then, Ivy said she was trying Twitter – AND she now has 18,000 followers (when I last checked) – that’s more than many Hollywood celebs! Go Ivy! So I then decided that if Ivy’s doing it and has attracted so much attention that perhaps people would be interested in learning about other centenarians, particularly in the U.S. So I decided to join the Twitterverse.

Coincidently, a Boomer group I belong to was offering classes in Twitter and some other social networking sites, so I signed up for them. But Twitter really caught my attention (and interestingly, in the article, Ivy says she prefers it to Facebook). So I started a Twitter page, which for tech-challenged me was no small feat, and spent one entire week – no kidding – totally absorbed; in fact, one Sat. night I stayed up until 7:00 am, learning by reading other sites to see the kinds of posts. Then came the ultimate challenge for me – the 140 characters – THAT took a lot of skill. I still haven’t figured out how to post the links to articles, etc. (it was only a beginners’ class that I took), but will get to it. And then, I started getting a few followers and making connections. It’s still in it’s infancy – well, maybe gestation – but at least we’re there!

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Now I’m trying to get Elsa Hoffman interested, but she says she’s too busy with her real life social life for cyberspace. It’s not for everyone, but for Ivy and me, we’re loving it! It’s fun.

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