Social networking sites are guilty pleasure shared by an astonishingly high number of "silver surfers", research has found。

　　研究发现，有相当多的“银发网友”认为社交网站带给他们“有罪恶感的快乐”。

　　Almost half of female internet users over 55 regularly log on to sites like Facebook and Twitter。

　　55岁以上的女网友大约有一半经常登录“脸谱”和推特等网站。

　　Even grandparents are joining the forums and finding that they are often the best way to check up on their families, who can be too busy to actually meet up in person. Older singletons are using the sites as a way to find love。

　　连祖父母也登录论坛参加讨论，他们发现这些网站往往是了解子女近况的最好方法，因为子女都太忙而无法与他们见面。孤寡老人使用此类网站寻找真爱。

　　The study of 2,000 older internet users by researcher Mintel found that more than a third of men and women over 55 also visited sites like YouTube to watch videos for free。

　　英国明特尔市场调查公司在对2000名“银发网友”进行研究后发现，超过三分之一的55岁以上网友还访问YouTube等网站免费观看视频。

　　Almost a fifth of all Britons who visited social networks for the first time last month were aged over 55, the figures show. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 older people have logged on to sites like Facebook for the first time in the past year。

　　数据显示，上个月首次访问社交网站的英国人中有近五分之一年龄在55岁以上。据估计，去年有近10万银发网友首次登录“脸谱”等网站。

　　Matt King, an analyst at Mintel, said: "Far more older women are using social networking sites than men. We found that women are going online for family orientated reasons. It is a way for them to look at pictures to see what their children and grandchildren have been up to. It's a way for them to keep in touch."

　　明特尔市场调查公司分析员马特金说：“银发女性使用社交网站的人数远远多于男性。我们发现，女性上网是出于家庭方面的因素。对她们来说，通过浏览照片可以了解子女和孙辈都在做些什么。这是他们保持联络的方式。

　　An interest in finding out about family extended into the past, with almost a quarter of over-55s going online to research their family tree。

　　对家庭的关注延伸到过去，近四分之一的55岁以上网友上网研究家谱。

　　The study also found that five percent of over-55s go online to use dating websites。

　　研究还发现，有5%的55岁以上网友上网访问约会网站。

　　But it is thought that many more are instead using social networking sites to find romance。

　　但是也有人认为，还有更多的人利用社交网站寻找浪漫。