I have had several clients ask me recently if I have some ‘young people’ in my shop who can handle their social media.

OUCH.

I have a problem with this on several levels.

First of all, I know I am not exactly “young” but I do not feel “old” either. I guess I am in between. You might call me middle age, but gee whiz, that sounds closer to “old” than to “young” to me.

Second of all, I feel that I am quite engaged in social media, and although my teenaged sons and ‘young’ employees might have known some of the features and functionality sooner than I did, I feel that I have embraced social media with the same gusto that I approach many things in my life.

Someone once told me that social networking is really an outreach of ‘regular’ networking, like going to Chamber of Commerce meetings. I feel that I am quite at ease at Chamber meetings or other social functions, and I enjoy ‘working a room,’ meeting new people, exchanging business cards and following up with a phone call, email, or LinkedIn/Facebook connection.

So, I ask you today, why would my clients ask me if I have some “young people” to handle their social media? (Let me just say that I have many employees who are younger than me, and some of them are quite proficient with socal media, and some do not pay much attention to it, so I am convinced it’s not all a function of  age.)

Which brings me to another topic that is a pet peeve. I think that other adults in my age bracket help perpetuate the perception that we are too old to figure out how to use social media. I can’t stand it when I hear people in their mid-years saying “I’m too old to figure that out.”

You are not! Just sit down at your computer, get your fingers on the keyboard, and use it! If you do not understand how something works, then type your question into Google and it is quite likely that someone has already asked the same question and someone else has come up with a logical answer.

Social media and the internet are all about trial and error, figuring things out, and asking others for help. Do not feel that you are disenfranchised because of your age! If you want to play in the social media sandbox, then you need to put in the time, ask questions, try things out, and learn…..continuously.

I encourage others who are ‘young at heart’ like I am to engage in social media and social networking, as it will open up new worlds both personally and professionally.

You can make new friends and reacquaint yourself with old ones (remember that song….”one is silver and the other gold.”

Anyway, if you are a young person who gets irritated with old people on Facebook, or if you are an older person who can’t figure out how to do the social networking thing, please weigh in here. I’m interested in what you have to say.

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