Technology

You can access our programs and services from just about anywhere with your personal and secure my Social Security account. It’s easy to sign up for one, and it will give you access to important information you can’t find anywhere else. You can even use your personal my Social Security account to opt out of receiving certain notices by mail, such as the annual cost-of-living adjustments and the income-related monthly adjustment amount notice. ...

There can be confusion surrounding Social Security payments, retirement, disability and/or Medicare. You can find many of the answers about these programs and services on the Social Security Administration's Frequently Asked Questions page at faq.ssa.gov.  ...

People receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits can obtain their new, standardized Benefit Verification letter by using their personal my Social Security account. You can use the letter as proof of income for loans, housing assistance, mortgage, and other verification purposes.   ...

There are many online sources for Social Security information, but you need to make sure you’re getting the right information. By using www.ssa.gov, you know that what you’re reading and watching is approved by Social Security experts and specifically created for you. Here are three resources where you can find valuable information about your Social Security benefits. ...

Did you know that Facebook users who share the most fake news are over age 65?

That’s likely because Boomers need to learn how to discern fact from fiction better. Just because it’s on your friend’s ‘news’ feed doesn’t make it true!

Don’t be duped. Learn how to spot fakes from facts, using the techniques trusted by fact-checkers around the world.

An organization called MediaWise offers courses tailor-made for people over age 65. Their mission is to empower people of all ages to be more critical consumers of content online. They teach people key digital literacy skills to spot misinformation and disinformation so online users can make decisions based on facts, not fiction.

This is just one of a growing number of educational tools aiming to help older Americans identify and reject misinformation, including:

• Fact Tracker interactive videos from AARP
• The News Literacy Project
• Checkology

Paula Span, a New York Times journalist who writes The New Old Age column, covers this and more in a new story worth reading.

Source: Next Avenue
Photo courtesy Pexels

...

Change happens. We get it. The most convenient way to change your direct deposit information with us is by creating a my Social Security account online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Once you create your account, you can update your bank information without leaving the comfort of your home.  ...

Videoconferencing has become an increasingly common way to bridge social distancing. If different videoconference services deliver the same utility, users seem to encounter similar kinds of issues: lousy audio and video. From my experience helping people, the trifecta of: they can't hear me, they can't see me, I can't hear them tops my list. ...

They talk about Millennial kids, awkward incidents with naked bananas and torn stockings. The greater Akron-based podcasting team and sisters Jean Mader and Laura Bettinger Spelich have hit a sweet spot, podcast-wise, with their friendly, freewheeling, pleasantly rambling “OK Boomer” podcast.  ...