Edythe Kirchmaier is Facebook’s oldest user at age 105.
Kirchmaier is also California’s oldest licensed driver and the University of Chicago’s oldest living alumnus, reports ABC News.
She joined Facebook last month when Direct Relief, a medical charity she’s volunteered with for 40 years, set up the account to coincide with her 105th birthday. “I’ve been contacted by such wonderful people and received such nice messages and pictures from people all over the world,” she said. “I’m so humbled by all the interest in me.”
In direct contrast to the assumption that older folk can’t grasp the concept of social media and largely turn away from it, Kirchmaier has taken to it quickly, and enjoys the ability to check in every day with her friends and family. She’s currently trying to use her story to get more attention to the fan page of Direct Relief.
“I’m hoping to get 105,000 likes for the page,” she said. The page already has about 77,000 likes.
Kirchmaier has roughly 22,000 friends on Facebook, and lists the University of Chicago, Glee‘s Jane Lynch, and the Cheesecake Factory as her “likes.”
Back to the point of seniors not embracing social: Retirees 65 and up are the fastest-growing demographic in social media, using sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace, according to a 2012 Pew Research poll.
Twitter is a big favorite, with 11 percent of tweeps falling into the 50 to 64 age range. That number is up from 5 percent in 2009.
Kirchmaier hasn’t started a Twitter yet, but she’s thinking about it. “I just may give it a try,” she said of the 140-character-or-less microblogging format.
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Check out Kirchmaier’s Facebook profile here, and the Direct Relief charity fan page here.
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