Social media is a great addition to our lives as it helps us stay connected with friends and loved ones. It also helps us stay informed of what is going on in the world. While there are clear benefits to social media, it can also be very dangerous, especially for seniors who might not be as savvy as younger people. In this article, we will be discussing how you can help protect a senior loved one if they use social media often.
Have Their Password
This is a sensitive conversation so you will need some tact to navigate it. You need to explain to a loved one that you need their password for safekeeping and to protect them on social media. You need to be very clear that you will not interfere with their account and are not spying on them.
Use the access you now have to their account to see who they are talking to on social media. Do not open messages from people you know, but you can look through suspicious messages. What you will be trying to prevent is solicitation or impersonation.
You also need to keep an eye on their friend list. They may have added someone thinking they know them or not knowing who they are. It might seem like paranoia but protecting your loved one from unrecognized “friends” is essential.
Only Connect to Trusted Friends and Family
There are a lot of malicious people targeting seniors online. These people start by impersonating someone a loved one might know and then trying to scam a loved one using this fake persona. To stop this from happening, ensure that you only connect them to trusted friends and family. These are the people they already know and who might not act maliciously towards them on social media.
It is also a good idea to connect to people who will keep an eye on their social media activity. If they live in a senior living facility and have made some friends, these people can keep an eye on their account for you.
You also need to find a senior living facility that teaches its residents how to stay safe on social media. These facilities know their residents might be targets if they have access to social media, so they do their best to protect them.
Ensure Strong Privacy Settings
Because of the targeting that we have talked about above, you need to ensure only accepted friends can see what your loved one posts. You do this by ensuring their privacy settings are very strong. Also, check their friend request settings to ensure only trusted people (friends of friends) can send them. When you do this, it will be a lot more difficult to discover your loved one on social media.
A senior loved one might want a social media account so they can stay connected with friends and family. What they might not know is that there are a lot of malicious people on the internet who are always looking to take advantage of seniors. It is your job to protect your loved ones from these people, especially because you are likely more knowledgeable about social media than they are.
