Monday, February 20, 2023

Grandpa Gets IT

 


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:

https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/population/population2022.ashx#:~:text=Population%20Size%20and%20Growth,-Singapore's%20total%20population&text=The%20resident%20population%20grew%20by,per%20cent%20to%200.52%20million.

 


 The rise in the number of old people and the lack of babies scares the government. It’s seen as a problem and somehow its bad for economic growth. The common belief is that you need bright young things who get technology if you are to get ahead in this “innovation-driven” world.

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:

https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/contributed-seniors-arent-tech-averse-were-just-not-designing-their-needs

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:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/13/share-of-those-65-and-older-who-are-tech-users-has-grown-in-the-past-decade/

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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Maira Gall