Get older people online

We're very proud to have been finalists in the Tech4Good awards for our video guide to getting older people online! 

Help us spread the message by sharing our video with the wonderful Janet Ellis far and wide. If you know someone who's reluctant to get connected, this could be the perfect nudge for them...  

'Gransnet is the modern-day equivalent of chatting over the garden fence'

Gransnet has never been busier. With over 750,000 page views a month and a lively, chatty forum connecting people from all over the country, and further afield too, it's clear being over 50 is no barrier to being online. But still there are many people out there who remain 'unconnected', unaware of the knowledge, support, advice and entertainment that can be found online. So, we're trying to highlight the important benefits that being online can have for everyone - especially as loneliness and isolation often go hand in hand.  

How the internet has changed lives

The Twitter Fiend

"...I am seriously opinionated and love a forum I can spout my opinions on. There are some amazing stroppy women tweeting such as Sandi Toksvig, Caroline Criado-Perez, Charlotte Church, Sue Perkins, Margaret Atwood, Bidisha, Hilary Clinton and Beatrix Campbell to name a few. I could not talk to these women easily in real life but I can follow their Twitter feeds and join in the conversation which for an old feminist is brilliant, keeps the grey matter ticking over and helps me feel I still have real opinions about the big issues of the day." Julie

The Forum Queen 

"The internet certainly changed my life. My family gave me an iPad for my 80th birthday, and I have made so many friends. I have joined several forums, one being a wildlife one. We meet up now and again, and I stay with one friend in Hampshire every year. I email, am on Facebook and Twitter. Love my internet." Jean (83 years old).

Skiffle band YouTubers 

"My wife, Pam, and I have been changed by the internet because when we retired recently we decided to start a skiffle band and raise money for local charities. The snare drummer's son filmed us performing at a local festival and we managed to get it on YouTube. Since it's been on last year we've had loads of enquiries leading to bookings from it. We're called "the 6-5 specials" and it's given the four of us a new purpose now we've retired." John 

Spread the word

If you have an older relative or friend who currently thinks the internet is 'not for them', show them this video, let them see a few pages on Gransnet that might interest them (we've got everything from politics, to fashion, to gifts for grandchildren, travel, gardening and pretty much everything in between) and let them see for themselves how much the internet has to offer. From being able to Skype with family who live far away, catch up on favourite TV programs or chat to like-minded souls on Gransnet, Twitter and Facebook, and so much more there's sure to be something that'll take their fancy.

And whatever you do, please don't forget to help us spread the word by voting here or using the hashtag #T4GGransnet on social media. Let's show everyone who's not yet online all that it has to offer. 

Other things you might like

• Gransnetters share their autocorrect fails.
• How to make the transition to grey hair.
• Win a glorious Townie bike.