Family, social life, belonging, love, relating to better quality life as grow older.
How do you avoid becoming isolated and lonely as you get older? Are there things you can do to help prevent this? Isolation and loneliness is a very real fear for many older adults. Many of us know of someone suffering from it, and it can be very sad. Recently, we asked our Longevity … Read more
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.
Staying “Independent” as long as possible is one of the most important priorities for many people as they age. But what do older adults really mean when they talk of being “independent”, and what are the obstacles to staying independent? At first blush thus seemed like a straightforward question. We set out to understand … Read more
“Hi, this is Lisa. I’m not sure I can take care of myself right now. Can you bring me some food?” I found that scary sounding message on my voicemail one Saturday morning. It started me on a journey to coordinate care for a close friend. I learned several things that I’ll share with you. I hope that if you are ever faced with a similar situation, my experience will help you.
Dignity of the elder must not be disregarded in the name of protection: whether we are dealing with the difficult issues of how to convince dad to give up the car keys, mom’s need for placement in a facility, or fear of money being improperly acquired by a scammer. The question posed is how to maximize the preservation of dignity in the face of true need for protection of the elder? This article addresses the issue as it relates to financial abuse of elders, but the principles are equally applicable in other situations.
Pokémon Go is a new App (Game) has taken the world by storm. This article suggests it could be a great Game for Seniors, helping to encourage healthy exercise. The article (plus video) explains what Pokemon Go is, and how one plays it.
Using a handful of simple, non-intrusive sensors, retired engineer Bob Glicksman has been able to learn all sorts of important things about the daily routine of an elderly person, who has cognitive impairment, and for whom he cares. He has been able to make multiple successful interventions to stave off what might have otherwise been serious adverse events. In fact, this simple sensor setup has worked better than he expected, and he shares his experiences, as an example of a real world use case in which a small addition of technology can accomplish a lot.
Cohousing: The power of community. Thoughts from a cohousing pioneer.
Below are several different “personas”. These correspond to broad “types of life circumstances”, and we find it is often useful to ask which of these personas best fits a specific individual before trying to recommend a specific product for that person. We have used these personas especially in our research to help older adults decide … Read more
We believe that Apps on a smartphone can be a very valuable, life-enhancing resource for older adults, but that it is hard to discover which Apps are and are not useful for this demographic.
We are setting out to make the benefits of smartphones and tablets easily available for older adults and Boomers through a combination of analysis, teaching, and sharing the experiences of their peers.
The Tech-enhanced Life analyst team, with inputs from our Longevity Explorer Circles, are working though all the things older adults can do with a smartphone and picking out the best. We are testing the apps and finding which ones work and which ones do not, from the perspective of an older adult. Our goal is to turn this work into an ever growing library of learning material designed to help unlock the potential of smartphones and tablets for older adults and Boomers.