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Are the boomers on the tail end of a hands-on era?
Have we only just begun to brush the surface of technology in our lives? What will we see—for all levels of senior function from daily care to transportation to activities—if we live to be 90?
Will we still be getting the same old same old and watching the droning TV in our nursing home days, or will there be new stuff for us? Who will drive the changes?
Will we still be getting the same old same old and watching the droning TV in our nursing home days, or will there be new stuff for us? Who will drive the changes?
In our nursing home days? You got plans? Maybe at age 78 you plan to move in to the best nursing home in town? My father-in-law drove till he was 89. Yes he died in a nursing home at age 92, but he was only there for a few months.
Today, less than 15% of people over 65 will be in a nursing home at some point in their life and that is usually for a few months, tops. Of course the insurance industry would have you believe different. Granted that figure goes up to 50% if your over 90. So half of all people over 90 die in their home. I have dealt with senior issues as part of my "soon to be ending" job for the last 10 years. One of our 91 year old clients just died in a nursing home. He broke his hip, went to the hospital and then to a nursing home. Died 11 days later.
But that is today. In 30 years medical technology will extend lifespan and quality of life. My guess that in 25 years, when I am 90, I will be in much better shape than the average 75 year old is today and my self driving car will be taking me where I want to go.
I think technology will allow people to age in place longer. 20 years from now, cars will be self-driving. There will be automated delivery of everything. There will be monitoring software to track the elderly and trigger human intervention if needed.
I'm not sure I believe it will be possible to automate traditional nursing home care. It will certainly be possible to have "assisted living-lite" at home for dramatically less cost than a traditional assisted living place. Medication management. Meals. Light housekeeping. Keeping an eye on things. There will still be a lot of human intervention but a lot less hours than would be needed now.
Didn't we just have this conversation a few days ago? My opinion tracks pretty well with GeoffD's on this. I think lots of little things could help more than one big thing (like a robot assistant) IMO. What if your refrigerator tracked when you put things in and out, scanning them or asking what they are to keep you from letting things go bad? I could use that now. A lot of what needs to happen is people getting more used to what is already available. You can get monitoring, stay in touch with others with nothing but voice commands, have medicines prepackaged by dose with dates/times on each package, have Roomba clean the floor at night, etc.
I think technology will allow people to age in place longer. 20 years from now, cars will be self-driving. There will be automated delivery of everything. There will be monitoring software to track the elderly and trigger human intervention if needed.
So seniors of the future will themselves have to be pretty tech-savvy to be able to order their goods for auto-delivery and push the right buttons about where to go, unless someone else puts in "preferences."
A lot of what needs to happen is people getting more used to what is already available. You can get monitoring, stay in touch with others with nothing but voice commands, have medicines prepackaged by dose with dates/times on each package, have Roomba clean the floor at night, etc.
Yes, you can, but how many seniors I wonder are doing or about to to this?
On another note, what I have seen as the greatest need, from seeing five family elders into their mid-90s, is bodily mobility support in the highest age range. Many really old people have the mental and physical dexterity to do their finances esp on computers, or fix their own meals at the stove...but getting from here to there is maybe the biggest problem, and of course falls.
But I wasn't only asking about physical care in old age. I'm also wondering how technology will affect the kinds of pleasurable activities really old people can be engaged in if and when we lose sight, hearing, dexterity, etc.
I remember wracking my brain to come up with even simple things my family elders could do when sight, hearing, and hand dexterity dwindled. Most of what I came up with was childhood stuff, like playing catch with fluffy balls, doing table puzzles with gigantic pieces, etc. These elders had never touched a computer in their lives, so technology would not have helped them in the final years.
I've been in three nursing homes for visits in the last year or two and saw nothing in them that employed technology for pleasurable activity. It was TV and bingo. These folks were in there till the end of their lives and some were/would be there for several years, not months, and still had their wits about them (if they were not medicated to the hilt).
Boomers are the innovators, so I wonder what new landscape it will be for us in 20 years.
So seniors of the future will themselves have to be pretty tech-savvy to be able to order their goods for auto-delivery and push the right buttons about where to go, unless someone else puts in "preferences."
They really don't. I pointed out in another post above that there is a lot more available now than people use, but your point is dead on that seniors aren't likely to be able to set it up themselves. But it should just work once set up. You can have a wiz kid come by now so that all you have to do is talk to your computer and you could order from Amazon, post here, Skype your friends and just about anything else you might want to do.
EDIT - and you responded to that other post while I was typing this...
Yes, you can, but how many seniors I wonder are doing or about to to this?
On another note, what I have seen as the greatest need, from seeing five family elders into their mid-90s, is bodily mobility support in the highest age range. Many really old people have the mental and physical dexterity to do their finances esp on computers, or fix their own meals at the stove...but getting from here to there is maybe the biggest problem, and of course falls.
But I wasn't only asking about physical care in old age. I'm also wondering how technology will affect the kinds of pleasurable activities really old people can be engaged in if and when we lose sight, hearing, dexterity, etc.
I remember wracking my brain to come up with even simple things my family elders could do when sight, hearing, and hand dexterity dwindled. Most of what I came up with was childhood stuff, like playing catch with fluffy balls, doing table puzzles with gigantic pieces, etc. These elders had never touched a computer in their lives, so technology would not have helped them in the final years.
I've been in three nursing homes for visits in the last year or two and saw nothing in them that employed technology for pleasurable activity. It was TV and bingo. These folks were in there till the end of their lives and some were/would be there for several years, not months, and still had their wits about them (if they were not medicated to the hilt).
Boomers are the innovators, so I wonder what new landscape it will be for us in 20 years.
One of the biggest problems facing developers of physical assistance technology isn't in the lab; it's in the court room. Even if you were able to prove that your tech was saving hundreds of lives by preventing falls, the one time it didn't, or worse contributed to an injury or death, the potential litigation could bankrupt the company.
...On another note, what I have seen as the greatest need, from seeing five family elders into their mid-90s, is bodily mobility support in the highest age range. Many really old people have the mental and physical dexterity to do their finances esp on computers, or fix their own meals at the stove...but getting from here to there is maybe the biggest problem, and of course falls...
This is a really big issue. My father's family has a lot of longevity. Also - my father lives in a senior independent living facility here - where the average age is now 85+ (he's 97). My late FIL lived in a SNF for 2 1/2 years (before he died at age 84). So I've seen a fair amount of these mobility issues.
Another issue - one that hasn't been mentioned - is dementia. I can't tell you how many "memory care" facilities are popping up where I live.
So you have people who can't get from A to B (easily or at all) - and - even if they get to B - can't remember why they were trying to get to B in the first place. I am not sure how technology/robots/similar can help a lot - if at all - in this situation.
FWIW - my father uses a motorized scooter outside in his complex (to get to dinner and the like) - a motorized wheelchair inside his villa - and he also has a transport wheelchair and a heavy duty walker (for forays outside his complex). He has the mental and physical capacity to use the motorized devices safely (in terms of himself and others) - but many people don't. There have been incidents in his complex where people on motorized scooters have collided with other people (resulting in serious injuries).
BTW - I disagree about the financial stuff. My late FIL and my father are from a generation that used to drive to banks to buy CDs. They were/are totally unprepared to deal with today's investment environment. And - of course - many women - especially in that generation - have never dealt with money at all. I handled all of my FIL's finances for the last 3 years of his life - and have been handling my father's for 10. I think I am still pretty sharp at my age (68) - but wonder how sharp I will be 10-15-20+ years from now? Robyn
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