As the baby boom generation (people born in 1946 through 1965) reached their most disability-prone years, the number of claims and subsequent appeals for disability benefits skyrocketed.  This strained the United States Social Security Administration’s ability to keep pace with the demand for hearings.  (A hearing is a proceeding before an administrative law judge requested by a claimant when he or she disagrees with a determination SSA has made.) SSA has made use of video conferencing technology as a means of meeting this challenge.