Seniors

Consider this gloomy WSJ article about aging. More Americans Are Aging Alone, Who Will Take Care of Them? The premise? “More than 16 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S. live alone. That represents 28% of that age group, almost triple the share in 1950." Whoa!  First of all 20% of the 65+ population is working today. Why? Life expectancy at 65 has risen to the mid-eighties for both women and men, compared to late 60’s, early 70’s in 1950. And a shrinking percentage of Americans live in rural areas today, according to Pew Research. While the article is a compelling description of a heroic organization of underpaid workers serving an Appalachian community, mapping the article to the reality of older adults in the United States today is disingenuous.

Some have said the concept of ‘AgeTech’ can be a bit depressing.  It is especially bleak when you look at the startup portfolio which aggregates a variety of tech categories to help older adults in their later years, Making Aging Easier for Everyone, and includes offerings that tackle deficits like issues with mobility, fall detection/prevention, caregiving, Alzheimer’s, vision, and many aspects of health. AgeTech tools include a few for the heavily-invested category of Digital Health ($3 Billion in Q1 2025).  All these products, all very useful, fill gaps in the general consumer market.  Consumer product designers tend not to start the day thinking about the older adult as a market segment. Instead, older adults are segmented into their roles -- older adults are the care recipients (B2B healthcare and senior living), as well as individuals with disabilities and needs for greater accessibility and/or services.  All useful.

Kudos to AARP - life expectancy impacts tech adoption. For the first time in their published research, AARP’s 2025 report provides insights into the tech adoption and preferences of older adults aged 80+. With life expectancy at 65 extending to an additional 20 years, this change reveals business opportunities to serve that age group, including tech-enabled services (like high speed Internet access), health-related devices and services, and most particularly training, as the survey reveals.  

Touch screens are an unending aggravation. Study the iPhone commands, for example.  Push up to get the display, pull down to select ‘Do not disturb’, but not too hard, because many other options appear. Push sideways, to change screens, move an icon around the screen, and, well, you know what happens then. Of course, knowing these choices is based on experience (and experimentation over time), not based on any training.  So what if you encounter the device for the first time?  Your hands shake just a bit, and you remember how much you liked having a keyboard…You wonder, are there ways to train new (and older) users on how to use touch screens – and for that matter, the essentials of the device? And will Siri’s voice commands overcome the touch screen’s limitations? Yes, actually.