Don't be fooled -- Older adults’ comfort with technology has skyrocketed

An email from a startup founder offered this observation about older adults’ comfort with technology: “The user experience gap between what a product promises in a press release and what a 78-year-old will actually pick up and operate is where most elder care technology quietly fails.”  Not true. If it provides a much-wanted experience like a chat with a grandchild, most older adults will deal with the hassle factors of downloading and using any software. If it involves an app to enable signing up for a desired exercise class, most will deal with the hassle. Long ago, one tech provider told her mother that if she didn’t use the check-in software, she would have to move her to assisted living. She got the message and provided regular updates.

Technologies benefiting both providers AND patients/consumers will be tolerated.   Checking in at a medical office is a poorly designed annoyance, but the appointment won’t happen unless a 78-year-old and beyond does what is required. Start up companies still operating on the premise that older people won’t use the technology must be offering a tool with no appeal or benefit to the user.  

It’s 2026 -- usage of tech among older adults has exploded.  The number of older adults using smartphones soared from 55% in 2016 to 90% now, according to recent research from AARP. Aside from connection with family members, a long list of capabilities makes that ownership critical to daily function – finding and scheduling transportation or other services, monitoring one’s health, scheduling medical appointments, and on and on. Older adults can pick the form factor – a desktop machine, smartphone or tablet. Notifications on smartphones – and even on wearables – are increasingly commonplace. 

Introducing a product based on patronizing assumptions is a fatal mistake. And it highlights the vendor’s objective – which is to introduce a technology that benefits the vendor, the vendor’s customers or an insurance company, or a family caregiver.  Automated check-in calls companies like IamFine have been around for a while, though adding a camera for fall detection, like SafelyYou or Inspiren can turn them into remote monitoring, even more useful for the very frail.