How My 99-Year-Old Mom Became a Social Media Influencer

And how she made me one too.

Yesterday, I was on my morning call from New York with my nearly 100-year-old mother in Florida when she said, “Gayle, I wasn’t going to tell you this. Last night when I came home, I turned off the alarm and dropped my keys. Then I tripped on them and fell down.” Mom lives alone in a small house.

She was okay, just slightly bruised, and shared how she was able to get up. She remembered what the physical therapist told her to do: Scoot on her butt to a place where she could lean her knees on a pillow or something soft and where there is a ledge, table or something sturdy she could grab to lift herself up.

“Mom, make a video about this,” I told her. “This is a great tip for your fans.” Over the phone, I then taught Mom how to shoot her own social media videos with her iPhone. She sends them to me, and I edit and post on my Instagram, where at this moment, she/we have 38,000 followers.

Mom’s story of how she scooted on her rear to the sink, where she has a thick mat that cushioned her knees, then held onto the sink and pulled herself up has over 68,000 plays on Instagram and 233 comments.

I also posted on TikTok and Facebook, where I noticed people are continually sharing this video giving helpful advice…