How tech businesses are helping improve the lives of the elderly

When you think of technology you don’t automatically think of the elderly, not many people do but when you think of it technology is often used to solve problems and the elderly have many problems that are in need of solving.

In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the ways tech companies are improving the lives of the elderly.

Staying social

If these last two years have shown us anything, it is that we never really know what is around the corner and being locked down in our homes has been a lonely experience for some of us.

Thankfully, with the use of technology, many of us have been able to talk to our family members face to face through companies such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Zoom, Skype and many more.

Even without this pandemic, the above companies have allowed many of us to keep in touch when we can’t visit our elderly relatives back home. Long term travellers or expats have also benefited from this technology and as more people use these companies you can only imagine how advanced it will get. Hopefully, we will never have a pandemic such as the one we have had over the last year but if we do maybe will be able to give our family members virtual reality hugs.

Improving everyday life

For many of us shopping online is taken for granted and we don’t really think much about it but for people with visual impairments browsing the internet and shopping online can be a difficult experience.

For elderly people with visual impairments and people with visual disabilities in general tech companies have produced software that can make browsing and shopping online, accessible to all.

This software is known as screen reader technology and it can read out the contents of a website so that people who can’t see can still browse the internet. Screen reading technology is a vital bit of technology for those who have trouble seeing. 

Keeping safe

Elderly people face challenges every day and with their mobility deteriorating, it can sometimes cause trips and falls which are deadly to them. People over the age of 50 are 60% more likely to have a trip or fall at home so having technology that can help in this situation is vital.

Trips and falls can cause anything from bruising to death so it’s very important to have someone to help you if it happens.

Sadly, older people often live alone and in this case, a fall can be deadly as they are often left until a family or friend visits their home which could be days after a fall. Some people will choose to carry a mobile phone around with them at all times but one of the major problems with this is when an elderly person falls often they are confused and can’t operate a phone.

Thankfully due to investments in fall technology, there are many companies out there that offer fall alarms that can dial for help in an emergency.

Fall alarms don’t require you to think too much and only require a button press to put you into contact with an agent in seconds. The benefit of using a fall alarm is that you don’t have to speak to an emergency services dispatch person and describe where you live and what has happened. A fall alarm is routed to an agent who has all of your details and can then pass that onto the emergency services so you can get treatment quickly.

A fall alarm agent can also get in touch with your family or friends to let them know what has happened so they can get to you quickly too.

Protecting your home

Sadly, elderly people are targeted by criminals as they are seen as being more vulnerable. Elderly people often can’t put up a fight in the case of a burglary and many of them hold on to family heirlooms which can be valuable. All of this makes an elderly person a target to a criminal so doing everything possible to stop an offence from taking place is something that should be done.

Most burglaries are carried out by opportunity and if a burglar can see a window or a door open that’s more than enough of an invitation to break into your home.

Tech companies are fighting these crimes on the elderly by creating complex alarm systems which can detect and even close your doors and windows, which removes the opportunity for someone to be an opportunist burglar.

Conclusion

As we mentioned earlier in this article, technology and the elderly is not something you would usually think of but there are many companies out there doing great work that is not only improving the lives of our elderly but it’s also saving them.