Shock, horror: I am keeping my Facebook account!

Jane Dodds' war on loneliness, particularly as it affects old people, reminded me of the benefits of social facilities on the Web, which have rather been lost in the (justifiable) public excoriation of Cambridge Analytica for their data-scraping. Loneliness - a lack of interaction with family and friends - can be a killer at any age, but particularly for the elderly.

I joined Facebook initially in order to access a large library of historic images of Neath and district, which was not then publicly available. I soon found that it was a very useful party political tool, not only putting me in touch with fellow Liberal Democrats throughout Britain and sharing their problems and solutions, but also in contributing to a Lib Dem message to the wider public. The unexpected bonus was the discovery that relations in Australia, whom I had not seen for years, were also on Facebook as were their families brought up there whom I had never met. Add the more immediate family in England and continental Europe and you can see why I do not want to give up Facebook.

Having been subjected to email adverts for many years as a result of signing up to various computer-related sites, I went into the relationship with FB with open eyes. I knew that my messages would be interspersed with targeted adverts (e.g. for funeral plans - perhaps I should have lied about my age when signing up) and it was a price I was willing to pay. In the event, the targeted traffic has not been that heavy - though the aim has not always that precise. For instance, just because I like KD Lang and Joni Mitchell, that does not mean that I would be attracted by all other Canadian singer/songwriters (who is this Bryan Adams?).

At this time when government, both central and local, seems intent on reducing non-drivers' activity outside the home by cutting subsidy to bus services, Facebook serves a very useful purpose. Users need to be advised about how much personal information they can withhold, however. Facebook, government and organisations supporting old people could be more helpful here.