Retire VA 24 - 23

and competence. " They want to know
how to navigate every platform. "
Her eight Roanoke City library sessions
are two hours each and she is paid by the
city. The classes are free for students.
She is looking to expand her free course
to other venues, including eldercare facilities
and churches. " By the time we reach
the second or third class, " Pannell says,
" they are all in. "
From the beginning, students are
taught to be safe and to learn " who's in
charge. That's important to know, in order
to protect vital information. " Students
" have to battle technology and they are
the soldiers. You can protect yourself if
you know how. "
A failure to learn how to operate a computer,
she insists, " means you are forever
dependent on somebody else. Life won't
be as much fun. "
Roanoke's Social Security crowd has
taken to social media enthusiastically
and for a wide range of reasons-some
they learned after becoming familiar
with the internet.
Roanoke native Brucie Boggs, 72,
says her mother had a Facebook page
when she died at 100. Boggs' own use
of the internet goes well beyond social
media: home security, watering the
lawn, monitoring a drop in electrical
power, basic safety at home.
" Thanks to a handy phone app, I
could help my husband monitor and
report his pain level after surgery and
receive instruction on rehabilitative
exercises, " she says. " I find MyChart
a breeze to use for making medical
appointments, viewing test results and
asking my [physician] routine questions.
My ophthalmologist even sent me videos
on what my cataract surgery would
entail.
" Technology has changed
SOCIAL MEDIA:
FIRST, PROTECT
YOURSELF
It has become essential
to protect yourself online
because predators lurk in
every corner.
These are some of the deep holes lurking on
your horseback ride through social media:
Snooping, Eaves Dropping, Phishing,
Sniffing, Impersonation, Malware/Virus, Man
in the Middle, Unsecured Network, Hackers,
Replays, Hardware Failure, Consumer Fraud.
Most of it sounds distant enough until
some teenager in Nigeria hacks into your
bank account or has your Social Security
check diverted to his account. And, yes, it's
all right there in front of you, waiting for you
to make a mistake, create an easy-to-break
password or carelessly list too much personal
information on Facebook.
our entertainment and travel
MO, too. We get our movie
and concert tickets through
an easy phone app, and we
either record or stream most
of what we watch on TV. We
regularly research restaurants
and make dinner reservations
through Open Table or Resy.
Flights, hotels, rental cars,
driving routes . . . all through
phone apps.
" Thanks to Facebook, I was
able to reconnect with two
pals I first met in elementary
school. Then the three of us
made contact with our second-grade
teacher, a mutual
favorite. "
Ernie Bentley and his wife,
Sue, both 78, have been on
the interwebs for 20 years
and " she's still hesitant to
use them, " but " we both use
social media. "
He had a background in
computers (selling them), so
the introduction was natural.
RETIRE-VA 2025 / Retire-VA.com 23
Forbes Best In State Financial Security Professional
http://www.Retire-VA.com
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