Nice places for seniors?

[MelodyMoonflower]

I am introducing someone to SL that would like to connect with people her age. She is in her 70's and has trouble typing fast enough to keep up with local chat. Does anyone know of a place she could meet people in her age range, and that possibly that uses voice? We have gone dancing, she likes that, but the chat goes too fast for her. 

[Sid Nagy]

What about the whole of SL?
There are tons of golden girls and boys everywhere. Don't let the young looks fool you. Sid for instance is 30 for 16 years already in SL. In RL I'm 65.
There are people in the age group 70+ right here on the forums.

Voice with more than 2-3 people together in SL is a pain in the .... as well.
Maybe she might concentrate on PM-ing while dancing.

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Sid Nagy

[MelodyMoonflower]

5 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

What about the whole of SL?
There are tons of golden girls and boys everywhere. Don't let the young looks fool you. Sid for instance is 30 for 16 years already in SL. In RL I'm 65.
There are people in the age group 70+ right here on the forums.

 

She's not one to use the forums, but I'll keep taking her around in world. Maybe she will meet some people somewhere.

[Phil Deakins]

4 hours ago, Sid Nagy said:

There are people in the age group 70+ right here on the forums.

And I'm one of them

@MelodyMoonflower Unfortunately for your friend, although I'm logged in for most of the time, I use Speedlight these days, which is a web browser viewer that isn't big on graphics, so I don't get out and about. I can chat and IM with people but I don't go anywhere, so I'm not much good for your friend. But there are plenty of we more mature ( ) people in SL, so I'm sure that she will make some friends if she gets around inworld.

I don't think that she should too concerned about her speed of typing - or her age.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Phil Deakins

[Jaylinbridges]

That's a tough one.  The few Retirement homes listed in search are adult rated and a bit kinky (to say the least). Most 70 and over folks run around with avatars that look 50 years younger, and are not going talk about their RL age in any public chat I know about.  There are always those young whippersnappers in their 40s to 60s that don't even remember Elvis or Bob Dylan. much less folk music.   You can find a lot of the wise old ones in oldies music clubs (nothing after 1990), or any kind of music that was popular in the 50's and 60's and 70's.  Blues clubs are an example, but that genre has too many  young kid artists for some seniors. There is a club in SL that plays mostly Leonard Cohen music for instance.  But it's mostly dead there (like Leonard), with only a couple events/week last time I checked.  

It's not that hard to find a partner/friend in her age group - but they usually remain private.  Some have said many Bellisseria residents that have been in SL over 10 years are likely grandparents, and are tired of fooling with the technical end of SL.  But they don't have any organized groups for retirees.  Just tend your garden and go to bed early, and stay off my lawn. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Jaylinbridges

[Annie Evergreen]

I'd prefer that people I meet in SL don't share a lot of specifics about their real life. I don't need to know someone's age (unless they're not adults yet), health conditions, employer, income, specific location, or marital status. Have some fun, hang out with whoever happens to be around.

[Caeruleiae]

Honestly I would just take your friend around places that have activities she would enjoy and not worry about the age thing-or even the speed she types. A really big portion of sl isn't all that great at typing-and there's nothing wrong with that. I can't always keep up with local chat either. 

Even I have a hard time finding people my age-partly due to the fact that some aren't really truthful about their age for whatever reason they wish and also partly due to the fact that most people in sl are a lot older than me. Then you also have people who just don't talk about their age-which is perfectly fine. It doesn't stop me from chatting with people in some places though. If I went looking for just people my own age I would probably end up leaving sl altogether. The voice thing is going to be difficult since a lot of those places are adult in nature and probably not what she's looking for. A lot of people don't use it with more than a couple people at a time-at least that's been what I've noticed. I don't use voice even though I don't mind if others do since I can hear them fine.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

I'm pretty sure that there's plenty of people her age hanging out in residential areas/communities in SL. Plenty of opportunities to get to know your neighbors at your own pace.

[Lindal Kidd]

Tell your friend that....

• The demographic of Second Life is a lot older than for most computer games.  The median age back 12-15 years ago was about 35, and I suspect that has gone up over the years. Certainly there are a LOT of retirement-aged folks behind those 20-something avatars!
• Local chat, especially in a crowded area like a club, is hard for ANYONE to follow, and most people won't expect you to. Glance at it occasionally, and toss out a comment if you want, but most of the serious talking will be going on one-on-one in IMs. This is why I keep the local chat window detached from the rest of the communication window, so I can see both.
• The only time local chat gets used seriously, in my opinion, is when there are three or four friends together. If there's a big crowd, you can get the same result by using a conference call with just your friends.

[Kalegthepsionicist]

london city, voice and I think lot elder there.

I think lot of elder people hangout at adult area , or gentleman club., ., sex place..and somthing like that

 

for femalr elder i found like todo fishing activity..

male I think they most at adult kink area, .

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Kalegthepsionicist

[Stephanie Misfit]

22 hours ago, MelodyMoonflower said:

I am introducing someone to SL that would like to connect with people her age. She is in her 70's and has trouble typing fast enough to keep up with local chat. Does anyone know of a place she could meet people in her age range, and that possibly that uses voice? We have gone dancing, she likes that, but the chat goes too fast for her. 

It's just really hard to know how old people are unless they tell you, and they don't tend to tell you unless you know them first. Most people use SL to get away from the real world, things like age are not a constraint in SL, it is part of the appeal. I have friends that are a lot younger than me and friends that are older. I can only suggest venues that play music that appeal to her because it is likely that that music will also appeal to people of a similar age. However, music venues don't tend to have voice enabled for obvious reasons.

[Chic Aeon]

If typing is an issue, can she do VOICE?    That might circumvent the problem.  

 

For the most part -- most folks don't go with the "Hi, I am Hank and 80 and live in Ohio with two grandkids" kind of thing. I mean the point is we don't care.     I note that "I" type a lot faster than most folks (waiting on IMs always) partly because I blog I guess and that gives you lots of practice  --- BUT ..... SL is 20 years old now. So if someone has an old account and was the legal age when they joined you can "assume" that they are at least 48 years old.  Many folks are WAY older. 

New account?   They could be any age.    

 

There are TONS of "old folks" here, many running long time businesses. But they are fairly tech savvy and can type. 

 

Morning edit : as noted below and as I realized in the middle of the night that number should be 38 not 48.  The "idea" is there though !  LOL  

Edited April 27, 2023 by Chic Aeon
fixing math issue

[Sid Nagy]

4 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

SL is 20 years old now. So if someone has an old account and was the legal age when they joined you can "assume" that they are at least 48 years old. 

 

There are TONS of "old folks" here, many running long time businesses. But they are fairly tech savvy and can type. 

 

Eh.... I'm affraid you have to redo your math here Chic. 

 

Damn, I still have my teacher habits.

[norajulian]

Like somebody earlier said, I would worry less about the age, and just find things she’d like to do. Everyone else will catch up. 
 

I have a very near and dear friend to me who is double my RL age, and who didn’t speak English when I first met her years ago (she came to SL because she wanted to learn English). We keep on great, and she’s found hobbies and friends, and has gotten pretty fast at typing with practice. 
 

Just give it a chance! ☺️

[Qie Niangao]

One thing about the upcoming mobile client: It'll be pretty hard to prevent it having quite capable speech-to-text transcription, so those so inclined can appear to be typing without all the trouble of pressing fingers to keys.

I wonder if that might also be common with existing desktop viewers, like especially for folks with disabilities or repetitive motion maladies, etc. Someone with Virtual Ability connections would know this, if that would be of interest.

(As everybody already said: I'd focus on the individual's interests more than age or any other RL consideration or constraint. Once they're engaged with an in-world interest, they'll find a way to make it work—especially with the help of a friend like the OP.)

[MelodyMoonflower]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I only mentioned age because she said she would like to meet some people around her age. Understandable as usually people have more in common with folks around their own age. Me personally, I don't care how old someone is as long as they are nice, but I definitely have more in common with people of my generation vs people of my kids generation. Might try fishing, that sounds like something she would enjoy. We were going to try horseback riding yesterday but got into her makeover and ran out of time lol. We will keep exploring places till we find some she likes, she already likes dancing. 🙂 💃

 

On 4/27/2023 at 9:04 PM, Qie Niangao said:

One thing about the upcoming mobile client: It'll be pretty hard to prevent it having quite capable speech-to-text transcription, so those so inclined can appear to be typing without all the trouble of pressing fingers to keys.

I wonder if that might also be common with existing desktop viewers, like especially for folks with disabilities or repetitive motion maladies, etc. Someone with Virtual Ability connections would know this, if that would be of interest.

(As everybody already said: I'd focus on the individual's interests more than age or any other RL consideration or constraint. Once they're engaged with an in-world interest, they'll find a way to make it work—especially with the help of a friend like the OP.)

Speech to text would be great! Some years ago I worked for a company that made that, completely forgot about it. I'm going to look into it. Thank you for the suggestion!

[belindacarson]

[Cali Souther]

Melody,

I sent you a message.  I know a place your friend might like - they don't use voice, but the crowd is 50+ and the chat is not full of gestures nor does it fly by (most of the time) like some clubs.  It's a small place with friendly people (most are from UK) and the Dj is 70+

Hope this can be of some help. 

[Anaryane]

 

There are also groups for doing activities, (sailing, horse trail etc.). This makes it possible to communicate with people of any age, but generally older.

[InnerCity Elf]

Of course, there must be many people who "aged with SL" but jumping in from scratch is probably rarer, I think it's really awesome when someone im their 70s starts to explore something like SL, I know elderly people who won't use a smartphone or iPad or internet in general, as they are "afraid".

I fear I don't have any specific tips but am now wondering what would be considered a "senior" here. I'm currently flat hunting and saw an ad by a 60-years-old who called herself a "senior", which surprised me.

I'd probably not call people seniors below "official pension age", so, at the least, 65 or 70, and probably wouldn't really call anyone who is still working a senior, nevermind their age, and that more for "classification reasons".

Apart from that, I'd rather be inclined to use the Japanese expression "senpai" for anyone older (and supposedly wiser) than me, and senpai can of course apply to pretty much anyone who's older than oneself, which actually is the original meaning of senior, too, like "he's five years my senior" could mean I'm 70 and he's 75, but also I'm 20 and he's 25. 

I hope this isn't too derailing, but I honestly find it interesting what age people comsider "senior" in the sense you mostly see it used today.

[Regor Romano]

Well, I'm over 60 and have been in Second Life since Oct 2007. So, I guess that makes me a senior...  

I have never cared to make my avatar look younger. Don't really see the point. 

Anyways, our land is user friendly. My wife and I always like to help people out. Second Life can be a bit daunting at the beginning. But with practice and help, navigating around SL gets easier. 

[Alazarin Mondrian]

I need an NPC of an elderly person [man or woman] in a rocking chair that shakes their fist and shouts "Get offa mah lawn!" at passing avatars.