Technology and the elderly are not something you would associate with each other, but more older people turn to technology to help them with their problems. In this blog post, we will look at some of the emerging tech trends that older adults use to improve the quality of their everyday life and protect them while they are at home.
IMAGE: PEXELS
1. Preventing Accidents
If you are over the age of 50, there is a 60% chance of having an accident at home. For the non-elderly, a trip or fall in the home can be painful, but it’s not life-threatening. To the elderly, a fall could result in a serious injury or even death.
Unfortunately, technology isn’t quite at a point where it can detect fall hazards or prevent them;. However, a Swiss company has built an exoskeleton suit that can do just that; it just isn’t available to the public yet. While the technology for preventing trips and falls isn’t here yet, tech does exist that can help in the event of an emergency.
Companies such as Taking Care offer alarms and monitoring systems that can be set off due to a trip or fall. A fall can cause an older person to panic and not react as they normally would, so having a system in place to dial for emergency services is a life-saving innovation.
2. Providing Convenience
As we get older and our bodies become weaker everyday chores such as shopping can become more difficult. Technology once again, though, has a solution for the elderly, and although not as groundbreaking as an exoskeleton suit, it’s more practical. That solution is online shopping.
Online shopping to you may seem a simple convenience, but to the elderly, it can be life-saving. Not having to go out of the house, transport to a supermarket, and carry around heavy items is very convenient to an older person.
The internet plays a huge role in our lives, and to the elderly, it can mean the difference between eating and not eating. The internet allows seniors to log in to their favorite supermarket, order their food and select a day it needs to be delivered on.
However, some elderly and even those living with disabilities may forget to order their food on time. With online shopping having delivery blocks that can fill up quickly, it could cause a problem where someone needs to wait a few days without having food at home. Thankfully there’s another solution to this problem.
Samsung’s smart fridges can order items for your fridge as soon as you run out of them. They also can suggest recipes from the food you have in the fridge. Both can help an older person, and although smart fridges are not commonplace, I am sure that we will see more smart devices come down on price and be more accessible to all in the future.
3. Protecting Your Home
A burglary happens once every 30 seconds, and sadly the elderly are targeted as they are the most vulnerable. However, tech companies are taking a stand against this and producing products that can help the elderly stay safe while at home.
One such company is Boundary. Boundary offers a smart home alarm system that the elderly can use to keep them safe. They can monitor who is at the front door, make sure that doors and windows are locked, and even have a panic alarm triggered from your mobile phone.
The technology behind the Boundary alarm system highlights how far technology has come in a short period. Unlike traditional alarm systems, boundaries can be used to simulate people at home. This feature is great for the elderly as they are often attacked as they are seen as easy targets.
The smart technology of this alarm system can turn lights on and off, as well as devices to simulate more than one person being at home. Many people choose not to have alarms because of pets, but you can use the tech of this alarm system to ignore your pet’s movements.
Conclusion
For most people, technology is used to improve the battery life on their phones, see more clearly on their televisions or connect to the internet faster. To others, technology can be life-changing, and in this article, we have highlighted how technology can be used to improve the lives of the elderly.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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