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THURSDAY, APRIL 11 - APRIL 17, 2019
VOL. 8, , NO. 15
Since 1996
SOCIAL MEDIA HAS FOUND A NEW DEMOGRAPHIC – SENIOR CITIZENS Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
W
e’ve all seen millennials glued to their smart phones as they’re driving, crossing the street or even on a date. Yes, the smartphone has indeed changed young peoples’ lives. However, the young have now been outnumbered by their parents and grandparents, especially when it comes to Facebook use. According to the well-respected Pew Research Center, a swiftly growing demographic for social media use is people of age 65 and older; 34 percent of seniors use social media sites. “Grandparents are becoming proficient in alien things like Skype and especially Facebook and liking it,” says the Huffington Post. “It has become a healthy emotional outlet and word of its benefits has spread like wildfire among the elderly.” My late father discovered the joys of email when I bought him a Macintosh SE 30 computer back in the mid-1990s. He was, however, rather zealous. If I didn’t directly respond or at least acknowledge his email(s), he’d be on that ancient device - the telephone - asking if I’d seen his email. If that didn’t work, he’d send a fax. My hi-tech cassette answering machine was completely full by day’s end, mostly with messages from my dear father asking why I hadn’t acted upon his emails. My dear mother, now in her late 80s, discovered the world of social media some years ago thanks to her grandchildren. My mother, who is far more patient than my father ever was, learned all about Facebook, FaceTime and text messaging via voice better than her own children. Social media has changed the way we interact with the world around us in ways we never imagined even a decade ago. My mother keeps in contact with friends and relations back in England. She absolutely loves Facebook and is always responsive to her contacts. My mom uses text messaging more than
As senior citizens become more connected they also become a target for online scammers. - Courtesy photo
most - trouble is, it is the voice activated thing that bugs me. Text messaging should be short and sweet, like Twitter, let’s say. When the matriarch of the family texts, a not-so-short story develops into an Agatha Christie mystery. This of course takes considerable time to read and inwardly digest but alas, you have to
respond eventually. By this time, my email box is overflowing with extremely “important” news, the voicemail full; the office is wondering when I’m going to open those important pieces of “snail mail” and the cat wonders if I’ll ever feed him again.
Thus is our life, made better and brought to you by Apple, Samsung, Windows and a billion so called “start-up” tech companies. Yes it’s all about marketing, so beware. According to Pew Research Center, “with SEE SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE 14
Beloved Cal Phil Violinist Pavel Farkas Dies at 77 The music world lost one of its greatest artists on Friday, April 5, 2019, when violinist Pavel Farkas passed away at the age of 77. Born in 1942 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now the Slovak Republic) Farkas joined the Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra at the age of 17. A mere five years later he became its concertmaster. Always one to explore the world through music, Farkas held the position of concertmaster in orchestras including the Mexico City Philharmonic, RHK Radio Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Redlands Symphony, Pasadena Pops and the orchestras of the Bolshoi and Joffrey Ballets. Farkas was the founding concertmaster of the California Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony. He was the leader of the Slovak
Chamber Orchestra and a member of the first violin section of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As a soloist, Farkas performed with orchestras in Russia, Germany, Holland, Japan and the People’s Republic of China. He was also an in-demand studio musician in the entertainment industry. His playing can be heard on numerous Grammy-winning recordings with artists including Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Cher, Barry White, Donna Summer, John Williams, Maurice Jarre, Michelle Legrand, Lalo Schifrin, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross; Earth, Wind and Fire; Richard Marx, Gloria Gaynor, SEE PAVEL FARKAS PAGE 15
Mr. Farkas playing his violin. - File Photo Miller
by /
Terry Beacon
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