According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 40 percent of seniors age 65 and older use some form of social media to interact with friends and family. This number has risen from only 3 percent in 2005. This makes sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram an excellent place to reconnect. If you'd like to know how to locate and reconnect with long lost friends, consider the following tips and tricks.
Start with a quick internet search by name. Usually, if the individual is on a social media platform, they will show up in a typical web browser search. Sites like MyLife.com and other people search engines may also make it easy to connect quickly with old friends. Create an account and then type their name into the search field. On sites like MyLife, you can also contact the individual directly or through their social media platforms.
If this doesn't yield any results, go directly to Facebook or Instagram and type their name into the search. You can filter the results by town or school to help ensure you have the correct person.
If you've emailed the individual recently, you can search social media by the email address. Simply type the address into the platform's search bar and hit enter. If the person is signed up under their email address, their account will show up. Facebook, Twitter and other big-name networks provide the option to do an email search. Twitter lets you upload your address book so you can search users quickly and easily.
If you're looking for an old high school friend, locate a mutual friend you went to school with and search through that person's friend list. If you have a mutual friend that hung out with the person you are looking for, consider asking them if they have any information.
Search social media sites by phone number the same way you searched by email address. You can also contact the individual directly by phone and ask for their social media site. In some cases, the person may have their settings set up to prevent searches from locating them.
Before social media, it was often difficult to locate old friends and classmates who moved across the country or those who married and drifted away. Fortunately, sites like Facebook and Instagram make it easy to get in touch with individuals you haven't seen in a while. At Park Regency in Loveland, we offer free WI-Fi to our residents to make it easy to stay connected. And if you're not sure how to navigate social media or other technology resources, the assisted living staff may be able to help get you started.
