It’s all too common to make the assumption that people over the age of 80, 70, 60, or even 50, are going to be completely out of touch with technology. This is more than a little condescending to say the least, and while some people who are considerably older than 60 may be more likely to be a little technophobic, even that stereotype does not always hold true. There are plenty of ‘silver surfers’ these days as they are known.
But of course your tastes can change a little with age, and seeing as most articles on tech are not catering to our demographic, here are some of the best tech gadgets for senior citizens.
Echo
An Echo is a device that runs Alexa – Amazon’s AI assistant. It’s a brilliant tool for a host of things, from setting reminders and timers, to getting the weather report (and news updates), to playing music. You can ask facts, play games and even set it up to control the lighting.
If your knees are starting to get a little worse for wears, then being able to change the lights and things without getting up is always a nice bonus!
Kindle
A kindle is a fantastic tool for packing an entire library into one device. It’s slim, it’s light and it’s highly convenient. The latest Kindle is the Oasis e-reader and it’s a beautiful piece of technology. Prepare to never be bored again!
Medical Alert Systems
Okay so this one may be a little patronizing. But for those of us that are starting to see our health decline, a medical alert system can be a very useful tool indeed. These are devices that will call for help should you fall or have any kind of attack, or which can be used to call for help manually. In some cases, they might include GPS tracking (usually for Alzheimer’s) but we don’t need all that.
A medical alert system can be very svelte and stay out of the way – a watch for instance.
But why use a medical alert watch at all? There are a number of reasons but one of the most important is that it puts you and your family at ease.
If you’ve never fallen or never had an attack, then you might not think that a medical alert device is necessary. But that’s the whole point – it isn’t necessary until it is. Waiting until you’ve had an accident is a very bad strategy because you may never get a second chance to wear a device.
The other point is that they help to give you confidence. If you’re getting to the point where you worry that you’re going to fall over, then you might find yourself avoiding certain activities – perhaps even going into the garden. This can then cause your health and fitness to actually deteriorate much more rapidly and can undermine your lifestyle.
The same goes for your family – if they’re worried about you then they may not be able to relax and enjoy themselves at home – or they may feel the need to keep checking in on you. At the very least, you should consider investing in a device for their sake.
Check the link if you want to see the best products reviewed, to help you make the right choice.
Fitness Tracker
Another fantastic tool for people of all ages is a fitness tracker, such as the recent Fitbit Ionic. This can help you to stay more mindful of your steps, your calories going in and out, and your exercise regime (or lack thereof). It even monitors sleep and can simply be a very interesting insight into your own health.
