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Boomers Looking for Convenient, Connected, & Caring As They Age in Place
Every seven seconds, another Baby Boomer turns 64 years old. The nearly 77 million Baby Boomers represent the largest age group in America today. As they continue to age—and as they have done in the previous decades—this group continues to shape and transform new technological innovations.
A recent CNBC report noted that “while the parents of the Boomers were content to simply live longer, the new generation gap is about expectations: to live longer and to live better.”
New technologies are constantly appearing, whether it’s in your car, home, phone, and clothing, to help us as we age in place and live independently. In fact, technologies that will help us improve our lives as we continue to age was one of the topics recently discussed at the Techonomy Conference in Lake Tahoe, Calif., specifically in a panel called “The Science and Economics of Life Extension.”
According to Joseph F. Coughlin, a writer for CNBC and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, products that will be serving seniors and people with disabilities are an important and growing market, but according to the panel, the big winners will serve the older consumer by stealth.
“What do boomers and people with disabilities want as they age?” he asks. Simple—they desire products that will offer them convenience, connectivity, and care. Of course, this will be attractive to all age groups while meeting the practical needs of boomers.
Convenience
The panel discussed how retailers will partner with telecommunications firms to transform kitchen and bathrooms into services platforms. For instance, Internet-enabled appliances and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags will enable retailers to know when you are out of favorite foods facilitating convenient delivery of groceries. Now seniors and people with disabilities won’t have to worry about making that trip to the store or calling their families or friends for help; the food will be delivered to them automatically.
Connectivity
According to the CNBC report, “more than 70 percent of Americans over age 50 live in suburban and rural areas where transit is absent or underdeveloped. New technologies to detect health status behind the wheel and to improve overall driver performance are coming to the car enabling many older adults to drive longer safely.”
Care
The panel also discussed how tele-health technologies are already available to manage disease, connecting the home with branded hospital services such as Partners Center for Connected Health making a check-up-a-day tomorrow’s norm. Companies, such as Healthways, are proactively managing your well-being by using technology to encourage behaviors that will stave off chronic conditions and improve performance at work.
These are only a few examples of what’s new for people as they begin to age in place. No matter what is being developed, products and services should be convenient, connected, and caring.
Harry Burns, a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS), is founder of Home Evolutions LLC which provides customized, high-quality building and remodeling services for people with disabilities and older adults wishing to maintain their independence. His company specializes in assessment, modification, design/build and maintenance services.
