Joan MacDonaldB次元官网网址檚 health was in shambles at age 71. She was overweight and on numerous medications with high cholesterol, rising blood pressure and kidney trouble.

Her daughter, a fitness coach, warned that sheB次元官网网址檇 wind up an invalid if she didnB次元官网网址檛 turn things around. She did, hitting the gym for the first time and learning to balance her diet with the help of a brand new tool, an iPhone.

Now 75, MacDonald is a hype beast for health with a bodybuilderB次元官网网址檚 physique and 1.4 million loyal followers on Instagram.

SheB次元官网网址檚 among a growing number of B次元官网网址済randfluencers,B次元官网网址� folks 70 and up who have amassed substantial followings on social media with the help of decades-younger fans.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so rare to find someone her age being able to do all these things,B次元官网网址� said one of her admirers, 18-year-old Marianne Zapata of Larchmont, New York. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just such a positive thing to even think about.B次元官网网址�

Both aspirational and inspirational, older influencers are turning their digital platforms into gold.

MacDonald has paid partnerships with the sportswear and supplement brand WomenB次元官网网址檚 Best, and the stress-busting device Sensate. And she just launched her own health and fitness app not so many years after learning how to use digital technology herself.

On TikTok, four friends who go by @oldgays B次元官网网址� the youngest is 65 B次元官网网址� have 2.2 million followers, including Rihanna. They have an endorsement deal with Grindr as they delight fans with their clueless answers to pop culture questions.

Others focus on beauty and style, setting up Amazon closets with their go-to looks and putting on makeup tutorials live. Lagetta Wayne, at 78, has teens asking her to be their grandmother as she tends to her vegetables and cooks them up in Suisun City, California, as @msgrandmasgarden on TikTok.

Wayne, with 130,500 followers amassed since joining in June 2020, owes her social media success to a teenage granddaughter. Her very first video, a garden tour, clocked 37,600 likes.

B次元官网网址淥ne day my garden was very pretty and I got all excited about that and I asked her if she would take some pictures of me,B次元官网网址� Wayne recalled. B次元官网网址淪he said she was going to put me on TikTok and I said, well, what is TikTok? I had never heard of it.B次元官网网址�

Most people ages 50 and up use technology to stay connected to friends and family, according to a by AARP. But less than half use social media daily for that purpose, relying on Facebook above other platforms.

Just 37% of those 70 and older used social media daily in 2019, the research showed. Since coronavirus struck, older creators have expanded their horizons beyond mainstay Facebook and gotten more voracious, often driven by the growing number of feeds by people their own age, said Alison Bryant, senior vice president for AARP.

In the California desert town of Cathedral City, Jessay Martin is the second youngest of the Old Gays at 68.

B次元官网网址淚 thought I was going to spend the rest of my life relaxing pretty much, and I do, but this is picking up more for us. I had a very structured week where Monday I worked the food bank at the senior center, Tuesday and Friday I did yoga for an hour and a half, Wednesday I was on the front desk at the senior center. I was just sort of floating by, not being social, not putting myself out there in the gay community. And boy, has the Old Gays changed that,B次元官网网址� Martin said.

Like MacDonald, they do a lot of myth busting about whatB次元官网网址檚 possible in lifeB次元官网网址檚 sixth, seventh and eighth decades.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e showing that anybody can do these things, that you donB次元官网网址檛 have to be afraid of aging. The 20 and 30 somethings donB次元官网网址檛 often think about that,B次元官网网址� Bryant said. B次元官网网址淭he authenticity that weB次元官网网址檙e seeing in some of these older influencers is really refreshing. ThatB次元官网网址檚 part of the complexity of their narratives. TheyB次元官网网址檙e bringing other parts of their lives to it. TheyB次元官网网址檙e grandparents and great-grandparents and spouses. TheyB次元官网网址檙e more comfortable in their own skins.B次元官网网址�

Sandra Sallin, a blogger and artist, has slowly built her following to 25,300 on Instagram. Her reach recently extended to the British Olympic gold-medal diver Tom Daley, who raved about her motherB次元官网网址檚 cheesecake recipe after his coach spotted it online and made it for her athletes and staff. Sallin, a lover of lipstick who focuses on cooking and beauty, also shares photos from her past and other adventures, like her turn last year in a vintage Spitfire high above the Cliffs of Dover.

B次元官网网址淚 wanted to expand my world. I felt that I was older, that my world was shrinking. People were moving, people were ill,B次元官网网址� Sallin said. B次元官网网址淪o I started my blog because I wanted to reach out. After that, I heard about this thing called Instagram. It was really hard learning it. I really stumbled my way in. IB次元官网网址檓 shocked because most people who follow me are 30 and 40 years younger. But there are people who are older, who have kind of given up and say, B次元官网网址榊ou know, IB次元官网网址檓 going to start wearing lipstick.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Toby Bloomberg, 69, in Atlanta is a Sallin supporter. She discovered Sallin after Sallin competed on the short-lived Food Network show B次元官网网址淐lash of the Grandmas.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪he talks a lot about aging. ThatB次元官网网址檚 quite an unusual phenomenon on social media, which is obviously dominated by people far younger than we are,B次元官网网址� Bloomberg said.

MacDonald said she was surprised at the beginning that people actually cared what she had to say.

B次元官网网址淲hy would people want to follow an old broad,B次元官网网址� she giggled from her home in Ontario, Canada. B次元官网网址淢y daughter, Michelle, cleared that up. She said itB次元官网网址檚 what youB次元官网网址檙e representing, that people can do what they think theyB次元官网网址檝e not been able to do or were told that they couldnB次元官网网址檛 do.B次元官网网址�

Grace Maier, 32, is home full time with her two kids, ages 6 months and 2. She follows Barbara Costello, a 72-year-old Connecticut grandmother who uses the handle @brunchwithbabs.

B次元官网网址淪he does these posts, B次元官网网址楧id your mom ever tell you?B次元官网网址� and I followed her immediately on Instagram,B次元官网网址� Maier said. B次元官网网址淗er content brings me joy! SheB次元官网网址檚 got all of these life hacks and tips that remind me of things my grandma shared with me before she passed. She also doesnB次元官网网址檛 take herself too seriously and just seems like the kind of person who would welcome you into her home.B次元官网网址�

Mae Karwowski, founder and CEO of the influencer marketing agency Obviously, has more than 100 influencers in her network between the ages of 60 and 80. With more than a billion users on Instagram alone, she points to the successes on that platform of 93-year-old Helen Ruth Elam (baddiewinkle), 67-year-old Lyn Slater (iconaccidental) and 100-year-old style legend Iris Apfel.

ThereB次元官网网址檚 another aspect to the reach of seniors: Grandparents and grandchildren who have teamed up to share their adventures together, from traveling the world to Nerf gun battles.

B次元官网网址淢ainstream media, I would say, presents a really narrow viewpoint on this age group. WhatB次元官网网址檚 great about social media is you can follow a really cool 75-year-old woman who is just doing her thing in Florida and thatB次元官网网址檚 fun. ThatB次元官网网址檚 different. And sheB次元官网网址檚 funny,B次元官网网址� Karwowski said. B次元官网网址淭he 21-year-old fashion model influencer is managed. She has a team. She has designers falling all over themselves to give her everything. She has professional photographers. A lot of these 70-plus influencers are doing it all.B次元官网网址�

Candace Cima, 74, taught herself to shoot and edit video for Instagram by watching YouTube tutorials. She hopped on the platform in February 2019 as a fresh voice on fashion and style while encouraging her audience not to be afraid of aging. Her husband sometimes helps out with photos for @styleinyour70s.withleslieb (Leslie is her middle name).

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 still in that learning curve, I have to be honest. Two and a half years ago, I didnB次元官网网址檛 even know what an influencer was,B次元官网网址� said Cima, in Ithaca, New York. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e always had a lot of ideas about aging. I donB次元官网网址檛 understand why aging has such a negative connotation.B次元官网网址�

With 37,900 followers, some of her youngest fans have shared with her why they care: B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 want to age the way they saw their relatives aging,B次元官网网址� Cima said. B次元官网网址淭hey feel like they can learn something.B次元官网网址�

Leanne Italie, The Associated Press

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