Facebook's Oldest User Turns 106 Today
Edythe Kirchmaier, Facebook's oldest registered user, turns 106 today.
Kirchmaier earned the distinction of the social site's oldest denizen
last year when friends from the medical aid charity Direct Relief signed
her up for an account on her 105th birthday.
Kirchmaier, who is also California's oldest licensed driver and the
University of Chicago's oldest living graduate, at first couldn't enter
her birth year of 1908 when she joined Facebook. It took the site's
engineers a month to verify her age and fix the glitch, something they'd
never had to do before, Direct Relief's spokeswoman, Kerri Murray said.
Born into the age of telegraphs and candle stick telephones, Kirchmaier
said she embraces social media because it allows her to check in daily
with friends and family. She's also used her status to raise awareness
for volunteerism in general and Direct Relief in particular.
"My goal was to get my favorite charity, Direct Relief, better known," she told ABCNews.com.
The centenarian said she cherishes her Facebook relationships but still
believes in the power of the pen. Every Tuesday for the past 41 years,
she's driven herself to Direct Relief's offices in Santa Barbara,
Calif., to hand-write thank-you letters to the charity's donors.
Not that she underestimates the reach of social media. She has more than
45,000 friends on her personal Facebook page. The fan page Direct
Relief set up for her last year now has almost 105,000 likes. Users can
go to the page to donate to the charity and sign up for volunteer
opportunities.
'"I never thought we would hit 105,000 likes, but we did. I have been
volunteering here for 40 years and it feeds my soul," she said.
But much as she loves her social site experience, Kirchmaier she said
she won't be tweeting, pinning or visiting any other social media sites
anytime soon.
I'm sticking with Facebook for now," she said.
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