From SeniorsNews.net
Brining Technology to the Older Generation
BY SeniorsNews.net
11-14-2007
A common misperception is that seniors won’t try new technologies because they’re afraid of them. Herb Hauser, a New York-based bio-psychologist and president of Midtown Technologies, begs to differ.
"Today’s aging population was not afraid to fight World War II, the Korean War or Vietnam. They weren’t afraid of taking out a mortgage, using a fax machine or signing up for cable TV," he tells STS. "The problem is not that seniors are fearful of technology, it’s that the technology is too difficult to use."
Today’s technology is not designed to be intuitive for older adults—it’s designed to be cool for young people, Hauser says. "The kids want things thinner and smaller. It’s not only about the user interface of new technologies, but about the sheer geometric shape of the device."
Hauser points to Apple’s iPod as a good example. "The iPod is a great concept and something people of all ages can relate to," he says. "But if you have a 5% tremor in your hands, you can’t use the scroll wheel. The screen is too small, and the headphones are imperfect for older people, especially anyone with a hearing loss."
The market for new technology starts as early as one year old, Hauser says. But what’s the upper limit? "No one has ever calculated the ceiling in terms of age," he says.
Hauser believes the tech industry is on the brink of great things in terms of harnessing technology to serve people as they age. "We don’t call it aging-in-place—we call it forward living," he says. "The idea is to develop an environment that interacts with you as you grow older—an environment that compensates to make it easier for you to live."
One example is digital lights that not only turn on and off but can be adjusted to emit thousands of colors and intensities to compensate for changes in vision as someone ages. Another is sensors built into appliances such as refrigerators that simply count how many times a person uses it to track patterns and alert loved ones by e-mail when their older relative isn’t following usual habits.
At the same time, no one wants technology that screams disability, Hauser advises.
"I’m not talking about cameras that watch them like lab rats," Hauser says. "That’s invasive and disrespectful. I’m talking about technology that can improve the quality of our lives as we grow older and extend our lives in a dignified manner."
At his technology engineering firm, Hauser often pays staff to spend a weekend with one of their colleagues’ aging parents. "I ask them to watch how they live and see how they use technology," he explains. "You learn a lot that way."
"Manufacturers simply are not paying attention to what people want," he contends. Broadband Internet connections have become "the fourth utility of the human experience," he says, right up there with electricity, water and heating/air conditioning. Now it’s time to harness it to serve people’s lives.
© SeniorsNews.net 2007
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