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Helen Helm said she first logged on to the social-networking site Facebook because she's nosy. Before long, though, the Riderwood Retirement Community resident said she was inundated with messages from her son's friends who grew up on her back porch, many of them reading, "Happy birthday, Ms. Helm. Remember me?"

"It was a phenomenal experience being in touch with people I haven't seen in 10, 15 years," she told a crowd of about 50 seniors listening with pens and scraps of paper in hand.

Helm, the president of Riderwood's Computer Club and a former IBM employee, led a demonstration Monday morning of Facebook and the online telephone service Skype. Helm and fellow club member Trudy Downs went through step-by-step lessons of how to use the services, emphasizing how each could help connect family members while still preserving privacy.

Downs went through Facebook's site, showing the members how to search for friends, confirm and ignore friendship requests and post status updates about topics like the sunny weather on a cruise.

Every once in a while, the crowd would chuckle as the pages were minimized, revealing a desktop background of cartoon character Maxine grumpily staring at her computer screen. "I'm out of bed and I made it to the keyboard. What more do you want?" the caption read.

Downs asked the group to raise their hand if they were on Facebook or Skype. A few hands went up. A few more went up halfway. "I've tried," a few people yelled out.

Helm said many seniors are skeptical of the sites, because they do not want their private information put online. Some seniors will not even hook up their own computer to the Internet, she said, instead opting to use the community's computer lab for online interactions.

"If they have their checkbook in Excel, they don't want to be on the Internet," she said. "I think some of it is a little bit paranoid, and some of it is legitimate."

Many of those who do have accounts said they've had trouble logging in and understanding how to navigate the site. A few said they had used Facebook and Skype to keep in touch with their children and grandchildren, especially when someone was overseas.

"I still don't believe it; it's all a dream," said Gordon Ward, who has used Skype to talk to his daughter and grandchildren when they went to Germany and then Sacramento. Last week, Ward and wife Anita said they Skyped and watched their 13-year-old granddaughter play the piano and show off her report card.

"It's really been great for us," he said.

"Oh yes, just super," his wife chimed in.

Helm said she encourages seniors to look into using Skype because it's a cheap alternative to long-distance phone plans for people living off their pensions. It also helps families feel closer together despite miles between them, she said.

"A lot of people have family—grandchildren—that are out of town," she said. "They're not within reach. They don't see the birthday parties, the graduations, the everyday occurrences that are going on, and I think they miss it a lot. ... This is a great way to stay in touch, so you don't miss them growing up."

Some audience members said while they regularly use computers, they do not plan to sign up for Facebook, Skype, Twitter or other social-networking sites.

"I'm not really interested in it," club Vice President Gene Hoenig said. "It doesn't do anything for me. Unlimited long distance? It's just as easy to pick up the phone. I already spend entirely too much time on the computer."

"I'm still on AOL dial-up," new resident Gloria Sapiro said. Sapiro said she has used Skype with her grandkids to talk to her daughter during a trip to India. She said she might give it a try again, but "can't see sitting in front of this little computer and staring at a screen."

Despite some club members' hesitation, Helm said the majority of feedback she has received was positive. Now that seniors are learning Facebook, though, you know it's not cool, joked Downs during her presentation.

"Of course, the trend must be over," Downs said. "If seniors are on it, you know it's going downhill."