Innovative Technologies for Seniors

According to the Pew Research Center, 71% of web-savvy seniors use the internet on a near-daily basis. Whether for entertainment, social media, or business, technologies like smartphones, and tablets have become commonplace among today’s active adults. Keeping in touch with friends, and loved ones via the internet, or reading digital versions of books, and magazines is easy, and practical. For seniors opting to age in place, the latest, and greatest tech gadgets can be life-saving, and a convenient way to perform daily tasks such as managing appointments and keeping up on medication schedules.

Heard the phrase “there’s an app for that?” Well, it’s true. There is a phone app for virtually anything from calorie trackers to watching your favorite shows. Android or Apple users can download apps to create shopping lists, manage bank accounts, and of course connect with family through programs like Skype. Reading the fine print on a phone screen can be tedious but thanks to apps such as Make It Big fonts can be enlarged to fit the screen for ease of readability.

Tablets are the perfect compromise for seniors who don’t want to commit to a desktop or laptop computer. They’re lightweight and portable, and ideal for someone in a wheelchair, or who has trouble lifting weighty objects. They can be taken into the kitchen to create recipes, or into the bedroom to cozy up with a novel.

Wearable medical alert devices such as Life Alert are invaluable for someone aging in place, offering peace of mind in an emergency situation. For seniors living alone, or with a known health condition, suffering a medical crisis, and not being able to get to a phone is a serious risk, and these devices are set up to contact emergency responders with a simple press of a button.

Many baby boomers have taken on the role of caregiver for their aging parents. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s that cause disorientation, and wandering are hard on patients, and families, but thanks to clever GPS devices, caregivers can track the location of their loved one through cell phone alerts, or companies equipped to track the device and respond accordingly. GPS devices have various options available from watches, and pendants, to ingenious shoe inserts.

Safety is quality of living, and modern technology has made aging in place more convenient than ever for consumers, and their families.