Technology - AARP

Strength-related tech for stronger women?  With all of the digital health startups and corresponding $10 billion in investment, I was curious as to why none are helping women gain strength, which is known to be a direct link to maintaining balance and improving bone health, not to mention helping to prevent falls. I remember a book published years ago called Strong Women Stay Young, specifically focused on older women. The author, Miriam Nelson,  noted the importance of strength training and bone health – and in particular, avoiding osteoporosis, suffered by one in five women aged 50+.  It turns out, none of the 2024 digital health investments that are focused on women ($1.1 billion) tackled this dimension of women’s health.

IEEE wants to drive creation of a standard for AgeTech.  The global organization, long a player in the creation of standards across the spectrum of technology and engineering, has launched an ‘Activity’ called Technology Standards for the Aging (or AgeTech).The scope includes “terminology, human factors, usability, metrics, test methods, and interoperability for AgeTech products and services.” One possible output of this initiative is a certification of products or services that are in compliance with the standard.  Many already associated with the AgeTech topic are participating in this initiative, which is comprised of meetings and online discussion over a two-year period.

An impressive process was launched in 2013 at an AARP convention in Atlanta. Groups of older adults were shown how to use tablets. A presenter demonstrated and 4H volunteers sat at tables with the attendees to show them how to use them.  The program was called Mentor Up – and the idea was that young people could/should volunteer to help older adults with a device that was unfamiliar and baffling. At that time, the iPad was just three years old. The older adults in the room almost certainly did not own one -- at that time, 26 million older adults were NOT online. So their surprise and delight at what it could do made an impression. The role of young people was equally impressive -- and should be a role model for today.

The gap between some older adults and the devices/software they need does not narrow. As AARP responders noted in their survey, tech products do not seem to be designed with them in mind.  There are many indicators of this, but it was reinforced on a flight recently.  An older woman nearby struggles to access Wi-Fi, which is, uh, not that obvious. After a while, even with help, she gave up and read a book. She was not unlike the responders aged 70+ in the AARP survey who did not believe that tech could enable a healthy life. So how can this gap be closed? 

As 2025 began, the oldest baby boomer has turned 79. The population aged 65+ exceeds 58 million. Because of the sheer size of the older adult market, vendors see older adults as constituents of the market of technology for multiple age and health segments, though in the consumer product category their opinions are still often ignored (see The User Experience Needs An Upgrade).  How does the technology market evolve in next few years -- and how do older adults respond to the changes and opportunities it presents? 

One might think that the Consumer Electronics Show is about consumer electronics.  Not really. It is about tech concepts and possibilities, and possibly new or near-term products, that can lead to future products and/or distribution in the market. Whether in TVs, cars, drones, wearables, accessibility tech, home appliances or headsets, this international show with its 150,000 attendees has an ‘AI Everywhere’ (surprise!) theme. Attendees help both startups and established players to gain media and market attention and maybe even meet a few distribution partners or funders.  Here are 10 from this year’s show:

What caught our attention in 2024 in the older adult aging and health tech market?  By the end of the year of 2024, heading into CES 2025, AI, or at least the term ‘AI’ has caught the eye of all, from scammers to overpriced startups to overspending investors.   It all is reminiscent of previous years of hysteria over the web, the cloud, voice, and so on.  As we head towards CES 2025, where an enter new class graduates into the booths and brouhaha, here is a look back at 2024’s most notable blog posts: