Older adults love video chats and the technology that comes with it

Oftentimes, we neglect to think that older adults may like technology too. According to a 2017 Pew Research Center study, 80% of senior adults have a cell phone and 42% of those have smartphones. While smartphone ownership does drop for those in their mid-seventies and beyond, the increase in this ownership over time does continue to grow and as younger seniors continue to age, they just might take those smart devices with them.

And as that technology ownership continues to grow, it offers opportunities for seniors to continue learning, stay connected and even … yes … play video games.

Senior adults are not strangers to advances such as social media, online videos and smart technology. Often only considered when determining medical device accessibility, seniors tend to get overlooked when it comes to mainstream advances.

But then, grandma got a phone. And now, she wants a tablet too so she can see it better. And she wants to see pictures of the babies and video stream and chat. What happened to Grandma?

Grandma just got reconnected, and she has something to look forward to. This helps the family stay in touch, and it helps Grandma stay engaged. Granddaughter Katie is going to video call her so she can find out about her game that happened three states away, and she can watch events through live streaming when it may be too dark or too far for her to drive. And the technology isn’t that difficult to learn.

Bottom Line: Seniors are not as afraid of technology as we think they are. They still love learning, especially if it involves learning how to stay in touch with those they love the most. They want to feel needed and worthy, and communication, especially through video, allows them to feel confidence by learning a new skill and often encourages them to continue to learn more.

At Summerfield, we know what’s en vogue concerning technology for seniors. Just ask us, and we’ll make sure to educate the youngsters on hot new available tech that has seniors talking.