Caring for an Elderly Parent: the Unexpected Tech Struggles

WHO:

Business Insider - The author is caring for her 88-year-old mother.

Yahoo - The mother is described as fiercely independent and previously managed her own finances and appointments.

WHAT:

Business Insider - The mother moved into an assisted living facility in Connecticut due to declining health.

Yahoo - The author has to assist her mother with managing her digital life, which has become a significant part of her caregiving responsibilities.

Business Insider - The mother has five health insurance accounts that the author needed to access for reimbursement forms.

WHERE:

Business Insider - The mother lived alone in New York City before moving to an assisted living facility in Connecticut.

WHY:

Business Insider - The mother’s health declined dramatically, making it unsafe for her to live alone without round-the-clock care.

HOW:

Business Insider - The author faced challenges with her mother's accounts due to two-factor authentication, which required verification codes sent to an old email address.

Yahoo - The mother used a black-and-white composition notebook to keep track of her passwords before two-factor authentication complicated her ability to manage her accounts.

(UPDATED August 1, 2026 22:16 UTC)

A woman is now caring for her 88-year-old mother, who recently moved into an assisted living facility in Connecticut due to declining health that made it unsafe for her to live alone in New York City. The author has taken on the responsibility of managing her mother's digital life, which includes navigating five health insurance accounts and dealing with challenges like two-factor authentication that complicate access to important information. Previously, the mother relied on a black-and-white composition notebook to track her passwords, but the shift to digital security measures has added a layer of complexity to the caregiving process.