By Josh Byer, SeniorsZen.com

As technology advances, we begin to see it manifest in more and more items in our home. Kitchens, living rooms, offices and bathrooms are now filled with electrical gadgets. All of these objects have one thing in common – they require that we learn their interface in order to use them properly. Consequentially, there has been resistance from older communities to adopt these devices. 

By Josh Byer, SeniorsZen.com As technology advances, we begin to see it manifest in more and more items in our home. Kitchens, living rooms, offices and bathrooms are now filled with electrical gadgets. All of these objects have one thing in common – they require that we learn their interface in order to use them properly. Consequentially, there has been resistance from older communities to adopt these devices. 

Soon, this learning curve will vanish, thanks to current advances in computing science. Here are some examples of how future technologies will revolutionize retirement… ushering in an era of ease, accessibility, and assistance.

Robots

Aging brings with it a sociological issue that creates a serious complication – we become reluctant, and occasionally hostile, to the thought of accepting care. Tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and getting dressed help us develop a notion of self-reliance, and sacrificing this independence can cause irritation and resistance. Recent studies reported by Medical News Today suggest that seniors will be more likely to accept help from a robot assistant than a human one. Relying on artificial assistance (as opposed to another human being) allows an individual to maintain authorship over their own care giving. Since the assistant is non-human, tasks like bathing and personal hygiene are still relegated to the realm of “private” – which creates a surprisingly strong sales incentive for the development of artificial home care technology.  Consequently, robots will be a regular feature amongst care homes in the decades to come.

A New Era of Online Community

Isolation has always been a potential complication associated with retirement. With reduced mobility and available energy, the aging senior citizen becomes at risk of becoming alienated. If an effort is not taken to connect with an external community, sociological strain can soon develop into health-related issues – making kinship an essential component of both our physical and mental health. In seniors’ circles, resistance to social networking services such as Facebook and Myspace are often due to the learning curves associated with their interfaces. This barrier will soon be eliminated, thanks to the development of two technologies. Biometrics allows a computer to identify an individual based on an image – as this technology becomes more normalized, it will eliminate the need to recall the name, handle, and other identifying information we associate with identity.  Put simply, biometrics will allow us to outsource certain functions of memory, so we can use technology to interact socially with less psychological effort.

OLED

is an acronym for “Organic Light Emitting Diode“, a type of printable television screen that can be applied to any surface – including transparent materials. As the future rapidly approaches, we’ll soon see screens on windows and prescription glasses, curtains and product packaging. Consequently, the need to use a traditional computer will decrease. Combined with the ease of biometrics, OLED promises to open up a new era of interaction and ease-of-use – one that will require virtually no prior knowledge of technology in order to enjoy all of its benefits. Josh Byer is the Social Networking Coordinator for SeniorsZen.com – a complimentary online resource for Canadian retirees. You can follow them onTwitter and Pinterest.