AARP recently published several new reports -- all worth a read. Rant on. The survey reports, about the 50+ gamers and 50+ tech trends, each identify an age band of the 70+, something AARP began a few years ago and kudos to them, that banding continues among some of their research reports. Not so the Longevity Economy Outlook, which lumps the wealth of the population for those aged 50-100, but no breakout was offered about the spending potential for the population at the higher end of the age bands. From an economic standpoint -- what will they (or their families) spend money on, how is their health, what is the cost of their care, where do they live? Who knows?
What is the point of sneering at older people? Rant on. Consider an upcoming HIMSS event in Orlando with the charming title: "Monitoring Grandma: Adoption of Connected Health Tech by Seniors." That version of the title is spelled out here because the presenter has been alerted and agreed that the title was condescending – so MAYBE it will be changed. But this is just the tip of the condescension iceberg: Go ahead, Google ‘technology grandma’. Just check out the first page or two of the millions of identified references – including the images of older women ‘holding it wrong’ or ‘ confused.’
Elder Home Monitoring 2.0 – it may fill a growing need. Several companies noted were at CES or with announcements at or around that time offered up the possibility of a dashboard or collected insights about the wellbeing of an older adult at home. These may signal not only the next generation of in-home monitoring, but also the next generation of predictive analytics used to help older adults stay longer at home and/or out of the hospital. The timing is good as the oldest Baby Boomer turns 74 this month – and more older adults are staying longer at home. Information is from the company websites or press materials:
CES 2020 – walking the land of the new. What has 170,000 attendees, long lines, baffling arrangements of booth numbers across multiple, gigantic locations and more robots than you can shake a motion sensor at? That was CES 2020. This gigantic parade of the international new and possible can be perused online in detail (and perhaps more usefully) without walking a step or sniffing cigar smoke. This time, seen (somewhat) in person, here are 10 new offerings from the show that may be relevant to the older adult technology market. Descriptions are drawn from show booth presentations, sessions, websites, and press releases: