How Technology can Help you in Later Life
Technology is changing all of our lives at all ages and in all walks of life. Love it or loathe it, it’s undeniably impacting us all. For the generations that haven’t grown up with smart phones and laptops however, it can be a little bit daunting. It doesn’t need to be however. Technology can make life a lot easier in later years.
We’re not looking at stairlifts, mobility scooters or other such devices in this article. These are classics that are well known. Instead, some systems, devices and applications that might be new to you.
Voice Recognition Devices
A number of different options for digital assistants are available. While it is useful to ask Google or Amazon’s Alexa to put on the radio, the angle we’re looking at here is the ability to get it to remind you of stuff. Lunch tomorrow? Get your device to tell you when you should be leaving or remind you first thing in the morning. Want to know what time the shop closes or where you can get a certain ‘thing’ in the area? Just ask.
At a time in life when memory might not be as good as it once was, having a digital memory bank on hand to keep a track of your daily life alongside you can be invaluable. “Google, remind me to take dinner out of the oven in 20 minutes”.
GPS Smart Sole
This is one for your friend’s and family’s peace of mind as much of yours. For elderly loved ones who may be struggling to get around these days, the GPS Smart Sole is a shoe inner sole with a small GPS tracker in it that updates smart devices. Maybe a less intrusive way than having to have your own smart phone, this clever piece of tech means you won’t get lost again.
Smart Car Services
As a resident of the UK, you may be well aware that public transport can often be a headache. Though older people are provided a free bus pass, this may not always come in handy with an unreliable system. Smart Car Services come in at this point.
For important trips or appointments, it might be worth you while to try Uber (or Lyft in the US), an app taxi service that uses GPS to pick you up rather than describing to a Taxi driver where you want to go. Search, book and pay all within a couple of minutes and take the transport stress out of a busy day. Uber tends to be more reasonably priced than local taxi companies and their app is easy to use.
Online Pharmacy
Regular and repeat prescriptions can be a monthly irritation. A number of NHS verified websites can be your personal online pharmacy however. Digital Doctors and the postal service can ensure that your prescriptions are up-to-date without needing to leave home. Particularly useful for those who may struggle to get around.
Mario the Robot
This one’s a bit of fun as well as useful. There is just such a Robot device called Mario with services such as talking with you about the weather helping to find keys, reminiscing about family holidays, talking you through recipes, recommending TV programmes and it comes with a touchscreen computer.
Aimed at sufferers of dementia among other illnesses, these robots cost a pretty penny and are probably more of a novelty than an essential at this stage of their development. However, it’s quite interesting to know that these are under development. At the rate that tech advances, these could be serviceable and mass produced within a couple of years!
Using technology later in life need not be stressful or confusing. It can be harnessed to improve quality of life and make the small things easier to keep up with. No need to go overboard, no need to overcomplicate things and no need to spend a fortune but a few gadgets and gizmos can go a long way to ease through later life.