news
Tuned in
to seniors
YouTube channel produces videos
for older users, who are a growing
demographic on the site.
T
here are YouTube channels for
everything these days, from
watching other people play video
games to learning how to pick a lock to
finding out how to fold a fitted sheet.
Now there’s a dedicated channel for the
over-55 set – and its popularity is booming.
Launched by The IRT Foundation last
year, The Good Life focuses on themes
including health and wellbeing, redefining
retirement and ageing without barriers. It
recently passed 550 subscribers.
Toby Dawson, IRT foundation
manager, said that although people over
55 make up a fast-growing YouTube
demographic, there’s little non-commercial
Australian content for this audience. “We
saw a gap in the market and an opportunity
to provide useful information to older
Australians in an easy to access and watch
format,” Dawson said.
A recent episode on the channel
focuses on volunteering and the
contribution that older Australians make to
the unpaid workforce. Hosts of The Good
Life, Wollongong locals Pete Gatwood
and Gwen Wilson, both volunteers, drew
attention to a group dedicating its free
time to protecting nesting little terns in
Lake Wollumboola.
Previous instalments have covered topics
and events including the importance of
advanced care planning as one gets older
and a senior sports carnival where the
participants must be over the age of 80.
“I’ve never done anything like this
before,” Gatwood said, adding he enjoyed
the challenge of learning new skills, such as
reading a teleprompter.
Wilson said: “I wanted to push the
boundaries and do something new, and
who knows where it’s going to lead.”
Long-form episodes run for about
30 minutes and are uploaded monthly to
the channel, while shorter five-minute clips
are provided on an ad hoc basis. To find the
channel, go to youtube.com and search for
“the good life irt”. ■
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