In the coming decades, the graying of America will pose many challenges to older adults. This is particularly true for those who want to age in place, but who will need support to do so. Where does that assistance come from?
Right now, there’s a major supply and demand imbalance for caregivers. This caregiver deficit will only continue to grow. Family-provided care isn’t a perfect solution either. Many older adults are childfree or simply don’t have close family who can support them. What’s to be done?
Silver tech is one of the fastest-growing areas of the tech world. This refers to technology that’s designed to support the needs of aging adults. It’s popping up in many places including hospitals and assisted-living facilities, but here we’ll look at the proliferation of silver tech in the senior’s own home.
Caregiving Tech
It’s popular wisdom that seniors are not very tech literate; that they find modern software and devices confusing, hard to operate and more trouble than they’re worth. But increasingly, seniors are bucking this stereotype.
Many seniors are falling in love with the silver tech that offers solutions for their needs. Technology under development or available now increasingly offers convenient support for aging people. These offerings are largely intuitive to use and integrate smoothly with the home. Here are some of them.
Medication Dispensers. A digital pill dispenser is the classic example here. However, devices like insulin pumps also fall under this category. They can be programmed to keep up with even complex medication schedules. This takes mental load off of the senior and their caregivers.
Robotic Companions. Robotic companions are being developed to interact with lonely seniors. Some are built to mimic pets. Others have human faces and can display a variety of expressions.
Mobility-related Robotics. These devices include assistive walkers and smart wheelchairs. The near future may add responsive exoskeletons that can be strapped on the limbs. They help seniors move around the home safely, run errands, socialize, and enjoy sports.
Smart Homes and Smart Security. Security systems can be programmed to automatically arm at a certain time of day. They may go further, auto-locking doors or lowering blinds. If there is a problem, smart security can alert caregivers, the police, or the homeowners.
Detection Devices. Some of these are wearables, like fall-detection pendants or the medical alert smartwatch. Others detect other dangers such as smoke, ovens left open, or doors that are unlocked after dark. These devices may be integrated with a smart home’s hub to take over some kinds of danger response. What if smoke is detected? The smart home may wake up the senior and automatically call the fire department.
Home Monitoring. At its heart, home monitoring transmits data to an outside observer. This is often a geographically distant nurse or caregiver. For instance, door sensors may warn caregivers when an adult with dementia has wandered off outside. These sensors, and other monitoring equipment like smart TVs, are often very unobtrusive. They blend in with technology the senior is already using, making adoption easier.
AI-powered Software. AI may grow to become the most versatile senior support of them all. Artificial intelligence is being used everywhere from smart phones to hospital systems. It can take over many functions currently handled by human caregivers, such as daily conversations, monitoring medication compliance, screening for cognition changes and ordering services like meal delivery.
Meeting Seniors Halfway
Seniors aren’t a monolith when it comes to technology. Some are very tech-savvy and adapt easily to new options on the market. Many more show varying degrees of hesitancy – but this is true for all generations with new tech, unless it’s user friendly. The key for seniors is to create useful tech that fits seamlessly into the lives they’ve already built.
While the young are usually willing to add more complexity to their day, seniors hoping to relax a little after a lifetime of work are more reluctant. They may already struggle to keep up the tasks of daily living. Why add “wrestle with a complicated gadget” to the list? It’s on the tech companies to answer that question – and market share will tell them how well they succeed.
Innovators have to develop software and devices that keep older adults in their homes and not in the hospital, as well as being user-friendly and tightly focused on the customer’s individual needs. Fitting technology into the senior’s existing world is a challenge that seems to be succeeding. As with all of us, seniors have an easier time adopting devices that resemble already familiar tech, adopting a long-familiar smart wristwatch rather than the unfamiliar pendant, for example, in their choice of wearables.
Silver Tech may be the best solution to major demographic changes in our near future. It can help older adults live healthier and more self-actualized lives. These live are less dependent on scarce caregivers and overburdened hospital systems.
