A New Opportunity – SeniorPlanet
By Robin Bush ISR Communications
There’s a brand new site on the internet where seniors and caregivers can interact, share, learn, and ask questions. It’s called Senior Planet Community. Senior Planet Community is the social media platform offered by Senior Planet and AARP and is designed specifically for older adult users. I checked it out and what I found was intriguing. Some of us may steer clear of social media, others are avid users, but this one is a place to engage with others who share your interests and also happen to be seniors. There is something special about connecting with a peer group that can relate to your challenges and suggest achievable solutions.
To join, you need to register at Welcome to Senior Planet – Senior Planet from AARP with your email and name and create a password. You’ll receive an email to confirm that you asked to sign up, and once you click on the link provided in the email, you are signed up. I tried it to see what it was like. Joining took me to a page where I could select groups (see “Groups” at the top of the page). That brought up a list of 27 groups I might be interested in, from gardening to a spot for creatives, a gardening club, a book lovers club, an advocacy group, everything Tech for tech questions, travelers sharing travel stories, foodies sharing recipes, a group for LGBTQIA+ members, a pet lovers’ group, even a group that practices Spanish together. I could select which ones I wanted to join.
Since I try each year to grow a vegetable garden in a space that only gets sun part of the day, I joined the garden group and found a camaraderie that is only matched by a trip to one of our local nurseries to talk with their plant experts. I asked for advice on several issues and found many willing to share their experiences and solutions; I discovered a group of people willing to share their wealth of knowledge gained from many years of living and growing gardens.
Give it a try; if you don’t like it, you can always click on your name at the top right of the website, select account, and then click on delete account.
For more information on Senior Planet and read their many articles go to www.seniorplanet.org. You don’t have to join anything and signing up for their newsletter is optional.