A screenshot of a Facebook page for Barb Zablotney, Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania 2018.
Barb Zablotney’s decade-long odyssey after an accident left her paralyzed took her from the depths of depression to leading an active public life.
Zablotney, a 33-year-old living in Windber, suffered a spinal cord injury in a December 2007 car crash. Today, she speaks at schools and events to encourage people with disabilities to be as active as they can and to educate others about the experiences of people with disabilities.
Like more and more Americans, she chronicles parts of her life on social media — something that the Social Security Administration has indicated it could begin reviewing as part of the vetting process when people apply for disability benefits.
“If it’s to weed out the people who genuinely are ruining the system and abusing it, then that is important,” said Zablotney, the 2018 Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania who also holds leadership roles at several advocacy organizations. “But it’s also important for people with disabilities to get out in their community and do as much as they can, whatever they can.
The Social Security Administration can currently review a person’s social media presence as part of fraud investigations that include information from social media to corroborate findings. But under the Trump administration, the agency has studied whether to expand its use of social media as part of the disability claims process. Some attorneys and people who advocate for those living with disabilities worry that the way a person appears on websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram could lead to unfairly limiting or denying benefits — and may further slow the process.
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Pittsburghers weigh in as Social Security mulls using social media to help vet disability claims
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