"Today it's my birthday and my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog.”So reads the first entry by one of the world’s oldest Webloggers, Maria Amelia Lopez.
Maria Lopez’s blog is read by 60,000 regular readers from far and wide
PONTEVEDRA: “Today it's my birthday and my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog.”
So reads the first entry by one of the world’s oldest Webloggers, Maria Amelia Lopez, who, at the age of 95, has surprised herself by a sudden conversion from Web-illiterate to cybercelebrity.
“At first I thought a blog was just a type of paper notebook,” said Lopez, a great-grandmother.
With 60,000 regular readers so far, Lopez’s homely mix of memory and chat, available at http: amis95. blogspot. com, attracts regular readers from around the world and has put her back in touch with the younger generation in a way she had never imagined.
“No one pays any attention to old women any more. Not many people love us. But I was surprised by the internet, because young people who were 18 years of age, or 14 or 15, tell me about their lives and what they think and ask my advice,” said Lopez.
Only one in 10 people over the age of 65 use the internet in Spain, slightly below the European average.
Although that proportion has nearly doubled over the last two years, it still suggests older citizens are missing the digital revolution even though they make up a growing
portion of the population.
“Although nothing can make up for affection, the internet can help communication, with mail, chat or messaging, and it’s fun and always available,” said Domingo Laborda, an official Spain’s Industry Ministry.
“The internet has given me life,” Lopez told Reuters, describing how she receives messages from places as diverse as Brazil, Russia and Japan.
Lopez calls herself, ‘the world’s oldest blogger’, although a quick Google search reveals several pretenders to the title, including 108-year-old Australian Olive Riley, who can be found at www.allaboutolive.com.au.
Due partly to cataracts, which mean she can’t see screens well, Lopez is assisted in her blogging by her grandson, Daniel, who takes her dictation.
Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has written to congratulate Lopez on her blog and she recommends other seniors to take up blogging. But it’s not all easy. “I’m going to die before I get broadband.”
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