How ‘engagement’ on social media makes you vulnerable to manipulation and misinformation

 Time to rethink your use of social media? 

Wonder why so many Americans are refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19?

"Our research shows that virtually all web technology platforms, such as social media and news recommendation systems, have a strong popularity bias. When applications are driven by cues like engagement rather than explicit search engine queries, popularity bias can lead to harmful unintended consequences."

"Social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok rely heavily on AI algorithms to rank and recommend content. These algorithms take as input what you “like,” comment on and share – in other words, content you engage with. The goal of the algorithms is to maximize engagement by finding out what people like and ranking it at the top of their feeds."

"Evidence shows that information is transmitted via “complex contagion,” meaning the more times someone is exposed to an idea online, the more likely they are to adopt and reshare it. When social media tells people an item is going viral, their cognitive biases kick in and translate into the irresistible urge to pay attention to it and share it."

"First, because of people’s tendency to associate with similar people, their online neighborhoods are not very diverse. The ease with which a social media user can unfriend those with whom they disagree pushes people into homogeneous communities, often referred to as echo chambers."

"Second, because many people’s friends are friends of each other, they influence each other. A famous experiment demonstrated that knowing what music your friends like affects your own stated preferences. Your social desire to conform distorts your independent judgment."

"Third, popularity signals can be gamed. Over the years, search engines have developed sophisticated techniques to counter so-called “link farms” and other schemes to manipulate search algorithms. Social media platforms, on the other hand, are just beginning to learn about their own vulnerabilities."

"People aiming to manipulate the information market have created fake accounts, like trolls and social bots, and organized fake networks. They have flooded the network to create the appearance that a conspiracy theory or a political candidate is popular, tricking both platform algorithms and people’s cognitive biases at once. They have even altered the structure of social networks to create illusions about majority opinions."

Currently The Wall Street Journal is publishing a series of articles exposing how Facebook manipulates users.

Written by FILIPPO MENCZER, Indiana University. https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2021/09/16/prc-the-conversation-how-engagement-makes-you-vulnerable-to-manipulation-and-misinformation-on-social-media/#.YUoJfX1MHo4

 

Want a guaranteed 8% return on your retirement investments?

"If you delay Social Security by a year and instead dip into savings to cover the missed benefits, you're effectively buying an annuity with an 8% payout. That's a deal that's hard to beat, as Rick Connor explains.

"How do you buy an annuity from the Social Security Administration (SSA)? For each year that you delay claiming Social Security, your benefit increases by about 8%. The CRR paper makes the case that delaying Social Security, while using your savings to pay current expenses, is the equivalent of buying an annuity from the SSA. The annuity’s cost is the Social Security payments that you forgo in the meantime. What’s the benefit? That’s equal to the increase in your Social Security check you receive in return for the delay."

Read the article to understand the long term implications of delaying claiming Social Security retirement benefits.  https://humbledollar.com/2021/09/income-for-sale/

 

Insurance companies no longer covering 100% of Covid costs

"The days of full covid coverage are over. Insurers are restoring deductibles and co-pays, leaving patients with big bills." Headline in The Washington Post 9/18/21.

Maybe it is time for the unvaccinated to finally get the jab to protect themselves.

"In 2020, as the pandemic took hold, U.S. health insurance companies declared they would cover 100 percent of the costs for covid treatment, waiving co-pays and expensive deductibles for hospital stays that frequently range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"But this year, most insurers have reinstated co-pays and deductibles for covid patients." Christopher Rowland, writing for the Post. 

 

Home Modifications Covered by Medicare and Medicaid

"Walk-in tubs, hospital beds and wheelchair ramps are among the many home modifications and devices keeping seniors safe. They don’t come cheap, but government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid can defray the cost."

"Medicare is extremely strict about what it covers, but seniors who show medical necessity qualify for up to 80% coverage. Seniors using their hospice care benefit don’t have to pay anything for covered equipment. Meanwhile, a few Medicare Advantage plans offer limited support for home modifications."

"Medicaid is more flexible, with many programs routinely offering medication dispensers and personal emergency response services."

Get the details at: https://www.theseniorlist.com/research/medicare-benefits-home-improvements/

 

Immediate fixed annuities: Create your own pension for guaranteed lifetime income

 Immediate fixed annuities are a way to create your own pension from your 401(k) or IRA retirement funds. Immediate (not deferred) fixed (not variable) annuities are plain-vanilla products that provide a predetermined income stream that starts paying out right away.While typically sold but insurance salespeople who earn a commission, annuities are also available direct from insurance companies, avoiding the sales commission. 

One example: "a 65-year-old man could currently expect to receive monthly payments of about $481 in exchange for purchasing a $100,000 annuity." "That translates into an effective income rate (which includes both interest payments and return of principal) of about 5.8%, which is higher than the cash flows generated by most investments. And in contrast to an investment portfolio, which runs the risk of depletion from unexpected longevity, market downturns, or a bad sequence of returns, an annuity won’t run out during the investor’s lifetime (or payout period)." 

The article offers some guidelines on figuring out if an annuity makes sense for you, and if so, how much to allocate.

The article offers 6 steps to decide if an annuity is right for you. Get details at: https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1056871/do-you-need-an-annuity-for-retirement-income?template-name=%7B%7Bletter.config.name%7D%7D&utm_campaign=wp_personal_finance&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_finance

 

Thinking about hiring a financial advisor? Considering switching advisors?

 Here are some links to articles to help you find such assistance. Thanks to Michelle Singletary, personal finance writer for The Washington Post.

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