{
  "id": 17043,
  "title": "I knew caring for my 88-year-old mom would be hard. I didn't expect to spend so much time on tech support.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/i-knew-caring-for-my-88-year-old-mom-would-be-hard-i-didnt-expect-to",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-01T14:25:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/caring-elderly-parent-means-being-tech-support-two-factor-authetication-2026-8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "My mother, fiercely independent up until her 80s, recently transitioned into an assisted living facility in Connecticut due to declining health. Despite her initial reluctance, I was relieved that she'd receive necessary support with daily tasks. However, I never anticipated that technology support would become such a significant responsibility.\n\nTwo-factor authentication and passwords have made caring for my mother a daily challenge. Logging into her health insurance accounts to access reimbursement forms has turned into an hour-long ordeal, involving forgotten passwords, verification codes sent to old email addresses, and phone calls to insurance companies. My mother, who once managed her digital life independently, now requires assistance with tasks that were once simple.\n\nHer inability to use a password manager or Face ID due to Parkinson's disease and the intricacies of two-factor authentication have left her unable to manage her accounts on her own. As technology increasingly assumes that everyone uses password managers, retrieves verification codes on multiple devices, and interacts with chatbots instead of people, my mother can no longer navigate these systems independently. This shift has resulted in her losing control over her life, a stark contrast to her previous self-reliance.",
  "summary": "My fiercely independent mom managed mostly on her own into her 80s. Now two-factor authentication has taken away her autonomy.",
  "key_points": [
    "Mother's independence declined in 80s, now in assisted living",
    "Technology support becomes significant responsibility",
    "Two-factor authentication and passwords cause daily challenge"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/17043.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}