Incorporating Technology for Seniors

It is a common belief that seniors are significantly less technologically literate than their younger counterparts. While this may be true in some cases, age is not necessarily a roadblock to technological proficiency or learning any new skill for the matter. However, if seniors themselves are convinced they are unable to learn how to use technology to their advantage, that can present more of an obstacle.

Overcoming Mental Barriers

Younger people tend to have no difficulty with new technology often because they assume it will cause them no difficulty. Seniors can also take this approach using a positive attitude and some required patience and perseverance to reap the benefits technology can offer.

Ongoing Progress

Recent years have seen a greater number of seniors learning to incorporate numerous technological tools and resources into their lives. In some cases, the drive is to stay connected to the people, activities, and tasks that are valuable and fulfilling within their lives. Sometimes technology can help manage productivity and behaviours concerning personal care and wellbeing.

More seniors than ever are learning to understand and value the contributions that technology can make to helping them live a positive, engaging, and healthy lifestyle. Supporting seniors as they work towards building a better sense of mastery in terms of their capacity to use technology can help to promote feelings of empowerment. It can also offer the opportunity for seniors to feel a sense of control over their ability to socialize, connect, learn, play, and keep track of the numerous aspects and facets that make up their lives.

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Tools and Gadgets

The emergence of new technologies continues to take place as continual developments and advancements are made in the technological realm. An incredible number of gadgets and tools are available to help improve, simplify, and introduce new aspects to seniors’ lives. Whether it be for entertainment, communication, knowledge and skill-building, or management of personal health, there are innumerable technological tools that seniors can use to increase efficiency and convenience in daily life.

• Video Games
•  Video Calling
• The Internet
• TV Shows and Movies
• Tablets
• E-Readers
• Social Media Outlets
• Smart Phones
• Computers
• Apps (For Fun or Productivity)

How Seniors Can Use Technology to Their Advantage

The options available for ways to incorporate technological tools into seniors’ lives in a positive way are endless. The following are some areas of life that can benefit from an integrative use of technology:

• Social Connectedness: Keeping up a fulfilling level of social engagement and connectedness is deeply valuable for maintaining overall health. Social media, email, internet platforms and other communication technologies such as video-chatting tools and smartphones offer seniors options to help stay connected to people that are important to them despite the distance.
• Safety: There are multiple technologies developed to help keep seniors safe within their homes as they grow older. Personal Emergency Response Systems allow seniors to receive help at the push of a button. There are also technologies that exist as monitoring systems and alerts that can help offer peace of mind to loved ones, caregivers, and seniors alike.
• Personal/Health Management: There are a whole host of apps and tools created especially to help seniors feel more in control of their health. Technological solutions can offer reminders for seniors to take their medication, assist them in tracking changes or relevant experiences concerning their health, provide access to information and resources relevant to their conditions, and help keep track of schedules and appointments. Technology can simplify and streamline all of the many elements that go into managing seniors’ personal care and health.
• Knowledge-Building: The internet provides an incredible amount of diverse and varied knowledge and information available to seniors to deepen or expand their levels of understanding on a range of topics. Engaging with online content, informational videos, and other people online can create opportunities for seniors to develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of themselves and the world around them.
• Exercise: By using video games that involve motion, apps that offer directed exercise regimes targeted at seniors, and technological tools that deliver brain exercises and thinking skills, seniors can exercise their bodies and minds with technological tools.
• Entertainment: Technology can offer numerous types of entertainment that seniors can enjoy. Watching TV, playing games, or reading on a chosen device are all entertainment options that are readily accessible. Games can contribute to the promotion of better mental fitness and playing can become a social activity when seniors connect with others.’

Many seniors find that making purposeful use of technology in their lives helps contribute to a better overall quality of life in a variety of ways. Technology creates chances for seniors to have simpler access to new and interesting things, offers the opportunity to support social connections, creates opportunities for creativity and fun, and delivers specific tools that can help in self-care and personal maintenance.

Introducing technology into seniors’ lives can help improve their daily experience and develop the possibility for further behaviours and activities that are helpful for overall wellbeing.