Lillian Lowe : The World's Oldest Facebook User

Great grandmother Lillian Lowe today claimed she is the world's oldest Facebook user at 103 - and she updates her status from her iPad.

Cyber centenarian signed up for the website to keep track of what her seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren are up to.

Just two months away from her 104th birthday, the family of young-at-heart Lillian believe she is the oldest of the social networking website's 500 million users around the world.

The pensioner is thought to have taken the crown of oldest Facebook user from 104-year-old Ivy Bean who died in her sleep in July.

Lillian said today that she is a big fan of the social-networking site.

'I love it - it is very exciting. It's a wonderful way of finding out about things. But I must say it's a dreadful waste of time. I'm sure there are lots of other things I should be doing rather than playing on a computer.

'I have been on Facebook for a few weeks now, some of the grandchildren do get up to some antics.

I have seen a few things over the years, so nothing really shocks me these days anyway.

'I go on the Facebook about twice a week, I have about 30 friends at the moment so there's quite a lot to catch up on. At the moment I use my grandson's iPad but I am very hopeful to get one of my own, there are some great new models out at the moment.'

The retired hotelier and businesswoman uses her grandson's iPad to get on the internet and has 34 Facebook 'friends'.

Lillian, from Tenby, Pembrokeshire, south Wales, said it was 'just lovely' seeing her latest photographs and messages every time she logs on.

She said: 'I can recommend it for any grandparents to keep in touch with their family with ringing all the time.'

Lillian was born in 1907 when Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was Britain's Prime Minister - and she can still remember the news of the Titanic sinking in 1912.

The great-grandmother - dubbed Supergran by her family - was already at school when the First World War started and was 12 before she had a radio in her house.

Lillian said: 'I think virtually everything has been invented during my time. What I particularly like now is this Google Earth.

'When I was 84, I visited Australia with my young sister Mary, who will be 100 next year.

'We had a lovely trip, so yesterday I took myself off have a look at the Swan River.

'I've always read a lot during my life, and this computer has just taken the place of a book.'

Her grandson Steve set Lillian up with her Facebook account - and gave her his iPad to use.

Tenby RNLI mechanic Steve said: 'Lillian is incredible, she has an amazing memory and loves to keep in touch with what everyone is doing.

'I even went round the other day and she told me Microsoft had brought out a new touchpad computer she quite liked, she is dropping hints I think for her own.

'At the moment she has about 30 friends and she likes to check the news feed, she loved a video we did of one her great-grandchildren dancing in front of the TV.

'Now and again, she might raise an eyebrow at a few of the teenage antics she sees on Facebook, but she's pretty broad-shouldered and takes it all in her stride.'

Ivy Bean, 104, was the previous oldest Twitter and Facebook user.

The OAP, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, became a friend of pop singer Peter Andre online and he was regularly in touch with her care home before her death.

Gordon Brown's wife Sarah led the tributes to Mrs Bean who had clocked up an astonishing 56,300 followers on Twitter, and another 5,000 on Facebook.