For better or worse, social media is a driving force influencing the world and the people who share it. For the disabled members of the community, social media can be a lifeline, allowing them to connect with others they would otherwise never have an opportunity to meet.
Social media can also be a powerful advocacy tool for disabled persons to get the messages out they need for support. But there is also a particularly problematic side to making social media posts when you have applied for disability.
Photos and posts can be misinterpreted
Social media posts are typically carefully curated and often heavily edited before they ever make it to the poster’s page. It’s natural to want to paint yourself in the most flattering light, looking your best.
But when that is the exception and not the rule, it offers a skewed view of your day-to-day life as a person living with disabilities. That photo of you smiling with a child held on your knees may have been carefully staged and actually quite painful to create, but it looks like you are stronger and healthier than you are in reality.
Social media posts are fair game for the SSA
For those who apply for benefits and those subject to a claims review, be aware that your posts can be perused by those determining whether you are truly disabled. Checking in at the summer’s hottest concert could make it appear that you are doing pretty good. Never mind that you prearranged to sit in the disabled section and spent the following day curled into a ball in bed from the pain from your efforts.
To avoid having the level of your disability challenged due to misconstrued social media posts, be mindful of your online activities. When in doubt, seek out knowledgeable sources that can guide you in the process.