THE oldest person on Twitter, Ivy Bean, died this week at the age of 104.
The great-grandmother from Bradford had first hit the headlines when she got ‘bored’ with one social network – Facebook – and switched to Twitter.
She ‘tweeted’ about her love of fish and chips, her online friendship with celebrity Peter Andre and her fondness for TV’s ‘Deal, or No Deal’.
Ivy chalked up a mind-boggling 56,000 followers on Twitter, who kept in touch with her via regular updates of just 14o characters.
Ivy’s inspirational story was a real boost to those who celebrate the power of the internet as a force for good and a liberating influence.
It certainly seems to have given Ivy a new lease of life and enabled her to make connections with people she would never have dreamt possible just five years ago.
She said: “Before I signed up to Twitter all I used to do was sit all day and fall asleep. I’d be miserable if I didn’t do it.”
The posts made by followers following the announcement of her death were touching, respectful and emotional.
Ivy’s touching story further underlined how social networks, such as Twitter, are rapidly changing the way people connect with each other in the 21st century.
It is a powerful reminder of the way the internet can help the human spirit to triumph.
And that its never too late to learn.
