At 99, is Jean NZ’s oldest Facebooker?
Jean Leslie logs on to Facebook and before she knows it a couple of hours have passed.
Amazing really, considering the 99-year-old has only 62 ‘friends’.
Leslie is probably in with a shout as Marlborough’s, maybe even New Zealand’s, oldest Facebook user.
She turns 100-years-old in December, but has no interest in reaching 100 friends by then.
‘‘I just want to know the people that I want, I’m not fussy about that,’’ she said.
The hi-tech great-granny can’t understand what all the fuss is about when it comes to computers and social media.
‘‘Why not keep going? Even if you have to press a few buttons, you only have to learn to do that.
‘‘Don’t wait until you get to be 90. Get used to it before that and get into it.
‘‘Life’s good, and it’s good to live so make the most of it. Living is fun.’’
Before computers, mobile phones and the internet, Leslie had to write letters to describe the exotic places she went.
Nowadays, people don’t even send photographs home, she said. They upload them directly to Facebook.
And that is where the 99-yearold has learnt to go while surfing the web on her iPad, waiting to catch a post in her newsfeed and give it a ‘like’.
‘‘I can’t get out and do things, I’ve got to stay put because my legs are no good,’’ she said.
‘‘I sit down in the afternoon when I’ve got a bit of time and pick it up. Before I know it I’ve had a couple of hours of entertainment.’’
Technology had come a long way in Leslie’s lifetime.
From analogue landlines to touch-screen pocket-computers, she always tried to stay ahead of the curve and learned to use a computer in her 80s.
Social media offered many opportunities for older people as it gave a convenient way to speak with loved ones, Leslie said.
Facebook was a way to break down barriers and seniors should not be afraid to jump online and give it a go, she said.
Granddaughter Melissa Tripe said it was impressive her nana was open to new technologies.
‘‘I think it’s cool. Our whole family is fairly tech-savvy,’’ she said.