I am, it seems, the last of the Boomers. An early adopter, I'm more comfortable with technology than the majority of my age cohort. So here are three products that elderly Boomers will desperately need in the years to come:
1. Hearing-aid headsets. Some of these exist, but they're rare, insanely expensive, and not well-made. Most hearing aids seem to be designed for people who want to hide the fact that they're wearing them. This isn't just stupid and hopeless, but I believe it cripples the basic functionality of the devices. A hell of a lot of boomers grew up listening to music with earphones, unlike previous generations. That's probably part of the reason that so many of us are going deaf now! So "hearing aids" that are full-sized headsets would work for my generation, I believe. They'd also be a lot harder to lose, and I know from personal experience with my father that losing (incredibly expensive) hearing aids is a huge problem for the elderly. I also believe that a larger hearing aid device could be far more effective. More size offers more potential power to work with. That's common sense, isn't it?
2. Easier TV remotes. Given the increasingly-boring wasteland that is modern cable TV, easy access to streaming services is critical - but a lot of tech-illiterate seniors simply can't cope with the mystery of HDMI1 vs HDMI2. Hell, my mother has serious trouble pressing the "ON" button on her TV remote! There has to be an easier way to switch from broadcast TV to YouTube to Netflix-etc. Some sort of really simple remote with buttons the size of quarters.
3. Cell phones. Okay, I know that simplified cell phones for the elderly exist. They're advertised by the AARP, among other places (which I have NOT joined, despite constant junk mail). But while they have large buttons, they're not designed with a real understanding of how easily confused the elderly can be by technology. Handing a Jitterbug to my mother would be like handing her a real phaser from Star Trek. She'd put it in a drawer and never use it again. Which was the literal fate of the cell phones she's been given, by the way. Want to make a phone that tech-hesitant seniors can use? Make it talk. "I am low on power. Please plug me in.", for example. Would that be so hard?
Okay, those are three devices which are needed, and which will only be MORE needed in the years to come. I hope someone makes them. And if they do, I hope I never need them.
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