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Gear and Gadgets—
2019’s Guide to Technology for Seniors

In addition to the helpful convenience provided to everyone, technology for seniors has a lot of benefits for improving healthcare, aging in place, and personal safety. Two main factors are seriously changing the senior tech landscape: computer-savvy baby boomers and human-savvy smart technology.

Benefits of Technology for Seniors

Baby boomers have been increasingly getting their parents online. But there’s still a large difference between technology use among seniors in the oldest demographics and society as a whole. This is an important gap to close, as the benefits of technology for seniors are greater with advancing age.

As well as the advantages of technology for senior care, home comfort, and peace of mind available to caregivers and professionals, there are direct benefits for seniors using technology for themselves, too.

Staying Socially Connected

• These days, families are spread across the world and younger generations already spend a significant amount of time online.
• Video calls with grandkids, following family news on social media, and making new friends are just some of the advantages to the internet for seniors.

Staying Physically Active

• Current technology isn’t just for staring at a screen, it can get us moving. For example, physical exercise is encouraged in motion-controlled video game systems.
• As well, there are constant improvements to assistive technology for senior mobility for use both around and out of the house.

Staying Involved in Care

• Understanding what a doctor recommends, or how best to communicate concerns is a huge benefit to accessing online health resources.
• Apps that monitor medication and record healthcare information can take away the worry of forgetting or danger of misunderstanding instructions.

As smart tech expands, allowing voice control and smoother lifestyle integration, seniors may benefit from technology more advanced than they ever thought possible, without the hassle of learning how to use it.

Smart Technology for Senior Care

The rise of the Internet Age hasn’t just meant “smart” gadgets on the market, although those are definitely available. It also means a connected world, and interconnected technology for senior care services even offline and in real life.

As more healthcare is needed for a growing senior population, more care services are using technology for communicating with patients and between professionals, monitoring vital signs and health changes, and overseeing equipment and care.

Telemedicine for Seniors

While the need for healthcare increases with age, the ability to easily get around lessens. Telemedicine combines video conferencing with advanced healthcare programs to provide virtual doctor’s appointments and more convenient, efficient care.

Videoconferencing

• Online video calls let seniors “see” their medical providers for appointments almost as easily as they make a phone call, cutting the need to travel.
• Video appointments increase access to care as doctors can attend more patients, more often, more efficiently.

Online Healthcare

• Systems like MyndYou use sensors or smartphone apps to record patient information, taking away the guesswork in self-reporting.
• Care programs use computer analysis to give doctors a better idea of what is working and what might need more focus.

Wearable Technology for Seniors 

Health wearables — wearable technology — can monitor activity, vital signs, wellness goals, and more depending on type. They can be broken down into three categories: professionally provided, senior specific, and general wearables.  

Professionally Provided

Most wearables that communicate with professionals aren’t publicly available. Doctors may prescribe them to monitor ill patients, or they may be used by in-home caregivers.

• Wearables that stick directly to the skin monitor health and vital signs, transmitting and recording detailed information for a doctor to analyze.
• Watch-like wearables track activities of daily living (ADL) like eating or sleeping, which alerts caregivers to areas of concern for more needed care.

Senior Specific

Wearables designed for seniors to monitor their own health are not as involved as professional ones and don’t share information with others.

• They don’t necessarily monitor vital signs, but will record your activity and keep track of your health goals.
• They often have added safety features like fall-detection and emergency alert buttons, and may also be waterproof.

General Wearables

“Health and wellness” is big business. There are more wearable options made for the general populace, with features that adapt for senior needs.

• Fitness wearables let boomers and healthy seniors track activeness, heart rate, sleep patterns, and diet to notice changes before there’s a problem.
• Smart watches are the most powerful wearable — a computer on the wrist. They can monitor habits and health information, while also acting as a smartphone.

Technology for Seniors to Age in Place 

Just like smart watches weren’t specifically designed for seniors but provide them powerful support, the best technology for seniors to age in place was not actually designed for it: smart home features.

For older seniors that grew up in a pre-digital world, voice-control provides the advantages of home automation without learning a new interface. The help and convenience of an online virtual assistant hooked up to smart home gadgets like lighting and safety devices can also improve a home for aging in place beyond renovations.

Smart Technology for Elderly People Living Alone 

Not only is modern interconnected technology for seniors made easy by voice control, it can also monitor for danger or problems and send alerts even when a person isn’t able to call for help. Seniors that want to live independently (with assistance) have a lot of smart technology options for outfitting a safe home.

Activity Sensors

Small internet-connected sensors can be placed around the home to record and track movement for signs of concern. They report trouble (such as no daily activity or food cupboards not opening) to an emergency contact or primary caregiver.

Cameras

As well as security cameras that keep the residence monitored for strangers, smart cameras can be set up inside the home to stream video to another location. This can ensure an elderly loved one’s safety when they’re alone or with a hired caregiver.

ERS

Emergency Response Systems (ERS) have advanced beyond a button that seniors push to call for help in an emergency. Wearables attached to the internet that monitor vital signs and voice activated assistants can both improve response times.

Medication Managers

Alarms/reminder apps and virtual assistants can let seniors know when and what medications they need. For extra assurance, they can be combined with a smart pillbox that dispenses pills or sends caregiver alerts.

Technology for Seniors with Dementia 

Modern technology for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can help daily living and oversee safety.

• Technology like GPS monitors set into clothing or shoes can help locate people who may wander before they can be in danger.
• Specialized gadgets — clocks for dementia, preprogrammed phones, appliance-electricity monitors — ease confusion for seniors and ease worry for caregivers.

Discover Modern Technology to Suit Senior Needs

Smart technology today is adapting to the needs of people rather than us learning to adapt to it. Even seniors that aren’t comfortable with screens and buttons now have the option of voice control. The numerous benefits of technology for healthcare, home comfort, and peace of mind also help seniors stay engaged and active in retirement. There’s no better time for seniors to explore smart technology and gear to find what works for them.

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