The Future of Being Old – copyright – feros care.
One of my colleagues was very excited today because over
the weekend, he found an app that allowed him to borrow books from the library
without actually having to go into the library building and to get the physical
copy of the book. He gave a small demonstration of how the “libby app” worked.
What makes this conversation particularly noteworthy is
the fact that my colleague is over 60. Although he is the oldest person in the
office, he is by far and away the most “tech-curious.” This man is more than a
skilled number cruncher. He knows the developments in the field and proudly
does his best to use the latest tools available to him.
As I hang around this particular colleague, I’m left
wondering where today’s employers get the idea that people over 45 don’t get it?
Sure, I see plenty of stories about how certain things have to be done a certain
way because the old folks will suffer. However, is this necessarily true?
Like it or not, old people are going to be a major
demographic. Singapore, like the rest of the developed world is aging. If you look
at the age pyramid, you’ll notice that there’s been a significant rise in the
number of people over 60 between 2012 and 2022:
However, I know enough “old folk” who do it and I’m
left wondering if it’s really a case of the old not getting technology or the
rest of us not getting the old. If you look at demographic terms, you could say
that people in the silent and greatest generation (or in Singaporean terms –
the Pioneer Generation), may not have been able to grasp certain technologies.
However, this generation is dying out and if you talk about technology in
relation to them, its probably in the context of how to provide care for them.
The bulk of today’s old are the “Baby Boomers” or the “Merdeka
Generation” if you want to use the Singapore label. This group was born between
1946 and 1964. At the earliest, they turning 60. Many of them are comfortably
moving into their 70s. A lot of them are not highly educated (in Singapore, this
would be the age where having O-levels was considered relatively good).
However, many of them are and they do use technology. One of the funniest
moments in life came from a conversation with my seventy-something year old father
who started telling me to use “Apps” because that’s the future.
Whilst my dad is an unusual character in many ways, I’ve
known people of his generation who do WhatsApp and use social media, for
example. My stepdad is turning 91 and he has a very active Instagram account.
So, the stereotype that people of a certain age being “tech-phobic”
is not necessarily accurate. They may be slow to adapt to technology because a
lot of tech is not designed for old people in mind. Touch screens are not fun
when you have leathery fingers and reading of a small screen is tough when you have
eye problems. However, as the following article suggests, just because seniors
don’t adapt to technology the way the kids do, it doesn’t mean they don’t use
technology:
My Gen Z kid is growing up in a world where there is
an app for everything. Why do you need to go out for food when there are apps
to bring food to you? She sees the world differently from the way I see it let
alone the way my parents see it. Tech companies have Gen Z in mind when they
design products.
However, what if tech companies started thinking of
products that old people would relish. The old folks are becoming increasingly tech-savvy
and there has been growth in the use of technology by the over 60s:
From a business stand point, it’s a logical place to
head. The number of old people is increasing. Unlike the millennials and Gen Z,
most of us in the Boomer and Gen X generations have worked for a while and a
few bucks to spare. As we age and discover limitations to our physical and even
intellectual output, our need for technology increases. So, instead of hiding behind
the mantra that “Grandpa doesn’t get IT,” technology providers should look and
understand that Grandpa needs IT more than you.
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