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Don't let growing older get in the way
Use our independent, objective, analysis, product evaluations, and explorations to make the challenges of growing older less challenging — for you, or for older adults you care about.
Exploration Community
Together, Tech-enhanced Life and the Longevity Explorers are exploring the future of aging and the intersection of aging and technology.
We're using what we learn to help older adults live better for longer, and to help companies develop products that older adults like us actually want and need.
Recent
Technology for Sheltering in Place
While staying at home for weeks or months on end is hard for everyone, older adults have some unique challenges. And as the enforced lockdown winds down eventually, those over 70 are likely to be the last to see a return to "normal" life. We created this page so members of the Tech-enhanced Life community have a place to share their learnings about how they are handling the challenges of "sheltering in place", and to compare notes about technologies they are finding useful.
Featured: Guides & Topic Deep-Dives
Medical Alert Systems: Help!
We kept getting asked "which medical alert system is best?"; and "how do I choose the right medical alert system for me?". This independent, objective, hands-on research tries to answer those questions. If you are looking for a medical alert system, either for yourself or for an older adult such as a parent, this piece of research is for you.
The "Useful Apps Club" for Older Adults
Unlock the potential of your smartphone or tablet to improve your life.
The "Useful Apps Club" is for older adults and Boomers who have a smartphone or tablet (or are thinking of getting one) and need help to turn it into a useful tool. We are focused on finding Apps that can change your life, and teaching you how to use them.
Avoid the Perils of Falling
Read the "best of the web" on: Avoiding Falling. Our team of clinicians and citizen analysts has scoured the web for the best available answers to a set of questions designed to help you make falling less likely, and make the consequences if you do fall less bad.
Medication Management Guide: Tools & Strategies
Medication Management Guide: Tools & Strategies. Research from Tech-enhanced Life into Medication apps, pill organizers, medication reminders, and medication lists. Comparative evaluations and reviews.
Retirement & Senior Living Choices: A Guide
Whether you call it senior living, retirement living, aging in place, or just finding a nice place to live when you get older, where and how to live is a super important question for older adults.
Designing for Older Adults: Learnings
There is a prevailing thought that products for older adults need to be designed with "different" things in mind than products for other demographics. But what should those "different" principles be? And is this idea even correct?
We are exploring these ideas in a series of explorations and articles. Our goal is to shed light on what people need to bear in mind as they think about developing products for the various types of people who collectively make up the bucket of "seniors".
Examples: Explorations, Research, Expert Opinion
Getting In and Out of Cars: Gadgets that Help
Our explorers have been trying out various gadgets that let them get in and out of cars more easily. We have explored a swivel car seat and a sort of extra "car handle for the elderly", known as either a Car Cane or a Handybar.
Smartwatch as Medical Alert?
For years we have been hearing older adults complain about how ugly and stigmatizing medical alerts are. As one lady told us: "My medical alert button makes me look like I escaped from the Intensive Care Unit. So I hardly ever wear it".
In 2018 a handful of products came to market that look like smart watches, and in some cases have some or all of the functionality of stylish smartwatches, but also work as medical alerts. We wanted to see how well they worked, and set out to test them — hoping they might change this dynamic. Here are the results.
What They Want vs What You Think They Need
I've said it before. Most of the products for older adults that we see are frankly not very good. This article is about two especially common pitfalls. I think of them as the "eat your broccoli" error, and the "I know how to market to 40 year olds" issue.
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