By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

You may have heard your grandkids talk about their MySpace page and their friends on Facebook. Social networking websites like these are exploding on the Internet—MySpace was Google’s top gainer in 2005. But they’re not just for kids anymore.

Online networking among boomers and older generations is increasing, through websites like Boomertown, Eons, and Social Maturity. And as this demographic gains attention, more sites are being developed that are tailored just for them. For example, Touchtown helps people who live at retirement communities like Seabrook stay connected online.

Community resources at fingertips
Erickson Retirement Communities launched Touchtown’s Web portal at all of its campuses to provide a place where residents could easily find community resources and interact with one another.

The portal, called Resident Internet Gateway (www.ericksonresident.com), features the community calendar, TV schedule, local weather, menus for on-site restaurants, e-mail access, and other resources specific to each campus. It even offers more than 23 computer games like tennis, miniature golf, backgammon, and Sudoku.

While several features are accessible to the public, others—like the Resident Health Portal, maintenance request, and photo gallery—are only available to people who live at Erickson communities; access to these areas requires a username and password.

Staying connected
One section that requires a username and password is “Active Discussions,” where users can interact and post their thoughts on various topics. The capacity to engage in online conversations parallels what other popular social networking websites offer.