What is Modern Technology and How is it Changing?
Updated on: January 2023
Technological advances are about much more than the new electric car from Tesla or autonomous vehicles by Mercedes. It is much more than just advanced wrist jewelry from Apple and fitness trackers that can tell you what you ate two weeks ago.
For the seniors who need these gadgets, advanced wearable technology is fast
becoming an integral part of their safety, health, and happiness.
For senior people, technological change can mean the difference between dependency and independence. Forget your Ubers and your social media; forget about Ultra HD TVs, virtual reality gadgets, and other ever-changing technology, as a senior, all these things mean nothing if you are going to be confined to a nursing home with no freedom to enjoy it all.
The kind of modern technological advancements that seniors need may not hit the headlines like the new rocket by SpaceX, but that does not mean that they are any less significant. To the seniors who need these gadgets, advanced wearable tech is fast becoming an integral part of their safety, health, and happiness.
Although we haven’t seen the best yet, some incredible technological advancements promise to greatly improve the lives of those who choose to embrace these new ways. The best part is that some of these gadgets will be easy enough to use that even the most technologically challenged seniors can figure them out quickly and make good use of them.
What is Modern Technology and How is it Changing?
Modern technology is all about efficiency and speed; it is about ensuring face-to-face communication, connecting you to your healthcare provider, and empowering you by giving you more access and control to the kind of care you get as well as service you receive.
Think about it this way: how often do you go online to look up information on…everything, really? Millennials do that every day and would almost never buy into any kind of service without reading the reviews and comments online first.
It is one way to determine whether or not a provider is to be trusted as well as see just how beneficial whatever service they are looking into will be to their day to day lives.
The same should be for your health and care as a senior. Technological advancements such as the Internet and computers have opened up a whole new world for you to learn and choose what is best for your health and happiness.
By 2020, these ever-changing technology innovations will ensure the kind of care you receive will be faster, better, efficient, and more effective—even offering social change. But that does not mean that you have to wait for years to arrive before you can start enjoying these benefits. There are wearables right now that are built specifically for the seniors who need them.
Gadgets That Can Tell Your:
- Blood pressure
- Sugar levels
- Gather data that can be interpreted by your caregivers for better care
- Suggest dietary needs
- Sound off an alarm in case of sudden immobility on your part indicating falls or loss of consciousness
The kinds of things these wearable gadgets can do are unimaginable. With that in mind, here is some wearable tech for seniors that you should try today if you want to lead a better and more medically secure life.
Wearable Tech for Seniors
With about 13 percent of the population in the U.S. is made up of seniors (43 million plus individuals), it is not difficult to see why this demographic is a commanding force within the wearable tech market.
As this Tweet would suggest:
https://twitter.com/CandySagon/status/523912351758974976
Seniors are the next big thing as far as the wearable tech market is concerned and with good reason. The gadgets being produced today can help seniors stay safe, healthy, and even in contact with their beloved family members.
As a senior, it makes sense for you to try and find out which one of these new technologies—among the thousands of available options—is the best wearable tech that suits you and your particular health needs. Here is a quick list of some of the best wearables on the market today that could just be perfect for you:
Wearables to Keep You Safe
If there is one thing that wearable tech has done for the aging community as a whole is that it has brought much-needed peace of mind to both the seniors who use them and their family members. Accidents such as falls and loss of consciousness are some of the leading risks that seniors have to live with every day.
Now imagine what would happen to seniors who live at home on their own and have no one to check up on them regularly? Even if they did have someone to check on them, what are the chances that someone will be within their line of sight 24/7?
Wearable tech such as Lively’s Safety Watch is an excellent example of just how far technology has come to make life easier for seniors.
- Uses a hub connected to several sensors around the home to always keep you in range
- These sensors record whether or not you have taken your medication
- Show whether or not you are moving around normally
- Ensures that you do not miss your meals
If any of these things is amiss, the watch will remind you and alert family members or caregivers of the noted item should things not go back to normal. The hub doesn’t require an Internet connection nor does it connect to a phone line. The tech is smart enough to record your data over time and learn what is ‘normal’ for you and use that as a point of reference.
Fall Prevention
Falls happen to be a leading hazard in the aging community with at least one out of every six seniors reporting a fall every day. Thanks to technology now, there is something you can wear that will keep you from impacting the ground and breaking a hip as you fall.
These wearable airbags such as ActiveProtective are worn as belts that deploy when they detect a fall. Although this product hasn’t reached mass production yet, it is just an example of how technology is going to make the lives of seniors easier and safer in the very near future.
There is so much more going on in the tech world that is geared towards making the care of seniors much easier and efficient. Things like:
- Walk-in bathtubs
- Elevator chairs
- Adjustable toilet seats
- Electric wheelchairs
Are all examples of everything that technology has helped achieve in this field. The benefits are numerous and absolutely welcome for those seniors who do not mind learning a little bit about tech they can use.
The Benefits of Technology to an Aging Society
The benefits of technology on any senior’s life will depend entirely on how much of that technology the senior embraces. If you are open to trying out new things, you will find that you have a lot to gain from this advancement and future tech.
Some of the Main Benefits of Technology to the Aging Community Include:
- Improve Your Levels of Safety: Now you can get help with the push of a button.
- Help with Exercise Options: Thanks to exercise DVDs and online trainers, now you can get your exercise done from the comfort of your living room.
- Connectivity: Things like Skype calls and Facebook have made it easier for seniors to keep in touch with loved ones who are far away.
- Health Management: Thanks to wearable tech, your doctor can now keep closer track of your health through the data recorded by your devices.
- Medication Management: There are apps now that ensure you do not take the wrong kind of medication. These apps also keep track of your pills and send you reminders if you forget.
- Smart Homes Increase Your Security: Although still not as widespread, there is technology that will ensure most homes are voice controlled to minimize the number of times seniors have to walk up and down the stairs to answer or lock the door. This technology also ensures that the home is always connected to a command center that can send help whenever the resident needs it (all voice activated).
All of these benefits go to show that technology is something to be embraced by people of all ages. While the younger generation may be engrossed in their virtual reality headsets and other forms of entertainment options available thanks to technological advancements, seniors who embrace this march forward can use the same advancements to improve the quality of their own lives.
Although compared to what else is going on out there in the technological world (self-driving cars and smart homes) most of the options listed here might seem rudimentary, but as time goes by, the advancements will keep coming and your life as an aging member of the society will only keep getting better and easier.
It is safe to say that the future holds wonderful things for seniors who are not technologically averse and are willing to give the new tech a try.
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Sources
- https://www.citybaseapartments.com/blog/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-we-see-the-world/
- https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/modern_science
- https://www.iofficecorp.com/blog/4-ways-technology-has-changed-the-modern-workplace
- https://pidatacenters.com/modern-technology-is-changing-the-way-our-brains-work/
- https://spotlightenglish.com/listen/technology-changing-modern-communication