Connect and Thrive Online Lesson 5.1

Photos and Family Platforms

Hi there. Welcome back to “Your Canadian Senior Moment”!

We’ve covered the basics of connecting and staying safe. Today, we’re diving into one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of being online: sharing your photos and memories with family. Whether it’s a recent holiday snap or a priceless family photo from the past, the internet makes sharing them instant and easy.

Simple Ways to Share Photos

You don’t need to join every social media platform to share your pictures. Here are the most straightforward and secure ways to get your photos to the people you love:

Email Attachments (Best for 1-2 photos):
- When you compose a new email, look for a small icon that looks like a paperclip. This is the “Attach File” button.
- Click the paperclip, select the photo you want to send from your device, and click “Send.”
- Tip: If the email bounces back, it means your photo file is too large. You may need to send fewer photos per email or use a cloud link (see below).
Text Messages (Best for one quick photo):
- If you are texting your family member from a smartphone, look for a small camera icon or photo icon in the message window.
- Tapping this allows you to select a picture from your phone’s photo gallery and send it instantly.
Private Cloud Sharing (Best for large numbers of photos):
- Services like Google Photos or Apple Photos allow you to securely store and share hundreds of photos at once. You can organize photos into an album and send a private link to your family.
- This is an excellent solution for sharing all the photos from a big family gathering without clogging up email inboxes.

Organizing Your Photos

Once you start taking and receiving photos digitally, it’s easy for them to pile up. A quick tip is to use a cloud storage service (like Google Photos or iCloud) to automatically back up and organize your pictures. This ensures your memories are safe even if your phone or computer breaks down.

Your Turn to Practice!

Find one photo on your phone or computer—perhaps a fun picture of a grandchild or a memory from your past. Now, practice sending it to a family member using the method you are least familiar with (either email, text, or a private sharing link).

What’s Next? In our next lesson, we will talk about Social Media Basics. We’ll show you how simple it is to use platforms like Facebook to keep up with extended family and join online community groups. We’ll see you then!

(Please remember: Your device and screen may look slightly different from our examples. If you run into any difficulty, please describe any problem in the comments and we’ll do our best to help you individually.)

Warmly,
Bill and Marilyn
Founders of Canadian Senior Moment