Social media is no longer regarded as the province of the young… increasingly older people are    making good use of it to keep in touch – and even regain touch with old friends. By Tony Watts OBE

I was driving past one of my favourite pubs the other day (The Ring of Bells in Compton Martin, Somerset in case you are ever nearby!) and observed one of the great pub chalkboard notices: “Inside – 3D Facebook”.

I smiled for the next few miles of the journey, not least because the Ring of Bells was always a pub in the fine tradition of village hostelries: a locals’ bar plus a smarter lounge where good food was to be found… and even a separate kids’ barn where you were not embarrassed if your youngsters kicked off while you were trying to enjoy a pint. 

When it was my local 30 years ago, if you wanted to have a chat of an evening, you could always drop in and find someone to talk to… patently that remains true today.

In many communities, however, social media is now effectively taking the place of social hubs such as pubs, which are struggling to stay open – caught between the Scylla of drink driving laws and the Charybdis of ever-rising prices.  Facebook is where we catch up on the local goss with our neighbours as well as our further flung friends and family.

Good thing, bad thing? Social media comes in for a lot of flak – usually highlighting some individuals’ tedious tendencies to post trivia, not forgetting the odd bout of bullying or faux outrage.

I so often see stories posted that attract a blizzard of angry ripostes, where a modest amount of research would reveal there is either a very credible other side to the story, it’s old news, or an actual lie.

I’ve lost count of the time friends have unthinkingly liked or re-tweeted items which have been posted by right wing political groups: who isn’t going to respond positively to a post about a war hero or cute puppy dog? I long ago learned never to respond to a post without checking out its provenance: fail to do that and you could end up being tarred with a very unpleasant brush.

So yes, social media does have its pitfalls. But it also has its glorious benefits too. One of which I’ve been enjoying recently because the two grammar schools I attended (Merrywood and Malmesbury) have set up very active Facebook pages. The joy that you sense when old friends manage to reconnect or share memories is palpable… maybe it’s because for some of us it’s 40 or even 50 years since we last were in touch.

Childhood memories and friendships go deep, and now many of us are heading into retirement there is perhaps more time to remember and reflect on the experiences and people that helped shape us.

So maybe it’s no surprise that the real growth in Facebook use in recent years has been amongst the older generations, leaving youngsters to the faster moving WhatsApp and Snapchat. Put up a post and you can start a conversation which can pull in comments from all sides of your life. On Facebook you can find humour, sentiment, political views, memories, social comment, useful information, news… not forgetting pictures and videos of family members and friends that you would never otherwise get to see.

All you have to do is skim past the latest posturing selfies and trivia…

All human life is there – interesting and memorable, bumptious and boring – indeed, not unlike the old locals’ bar in the village pub…

 the FREE financial planner that lets you take control of your future – and make the very most of your retirement years.