Day in and day out, I utilize my iPhone for purposes other than communication, such as using it as an organizer, a memo pad, and a calendar, in order to keep up with the fast-paced, busy lifestyle of a college student. I have caught myself recording down people's names and to-do lists the moment I think of them to prevent myself from losing my train of thought. Then, I began to think, "If I use my phone constantly as a memory tool, shouldn't elderlies invest more time in learning how to use a smart phone or does the complexity of the phone actually cause disturbance to their brain?" In the book Technology and Aging, there is an article written by Michael Massimi and Ronald Baecker called "An Empirical Study of Seniors' Perception of Mobile Phones as Memory Aids" which explores the implications of mobile phones as technology that can not only stimulate the minds of seniors, but also facilitate their memory process--stalling memory loss. This article was very interesting, because not only did the authors propose reasons as to why seniors continue to avoid mobile phone usage even though they have recognized these phones as effective memory aids, but also they conduct primary research and experimentation. From the research they conducted, they found that what seniors were looking for were characteristics such as portability, ease of use, proactive alarms, ease of size, etc. On the other hand, their primary concerns against mobile phones were complexity, hardware difficulty of use, etc. This study of technology that is geared towards the needs of the elderly is known as gerontechnology--presented in an article in the Journal of Systems and Software. Sri Kurniawan suggests in an article that to battle the elders' reluctance to use current mobile phones, phone developers should consider engaging the older people in the development of the phones so they can see the benefit it would have on their lives. Older people are more willing to utilize technology that they find is very beneficial to their lifestyle, even it means having to learn the odds and ends of the product. I believe that products such as mobile phones do not have a problem in engaging the younger generations, because the younger generation is always seeking the newest, most innovative product. The more important market share that these companies are lacking are that of older people; by securing this market share it would not only be beneficial to the phone company but also to elderlies as a facilitation towards the prevention of memory loss.
References
Kurniawan, S. (2007). Older people and mobile phones: A multi-method investigation [Electronic version]. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 66 (12), 889-901. Retrieved 31 Jan 2012 from USC Libraries database.
Mihailidis, A., Boger, J., & Kautz, H. (2008). Technology and Aging [Electronic version]. IOS Publishing. Retrieved 31 Jan 2012 from USC Libraries database.
Martin, L., Martin, S., Medrano, C., & Plaza, I. (2011). Mobile applications in an aging society: Status and trends [Electronic version]. Journal of Systems and Software, 84 (11), 1977-1988. Retrieved 31 Jan 2012 from USC Libraries database.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
What are Older People Actually Fearing about Technology?
After completing the readings from our class, I was very intrigued at all the possible topics that I would be able to explore. Through this blog I hope to explore aging theories and how aging has been affected by the presence and advancement of technology. The activist theory in social gerontology in reference to aging is the idea that the level of interaction and activity that people engage in affects how the person ages. According to a report from Marketing Charts, seniors ranked their top fear about aging as the loss of independence and moving out of their homes to a nursing home--even above death. Before researching, I have always believed that technology is beneficial to easing the process of aging. Technology has revolutionized the way the activist theory of aging is applied and presented. I came across an article titled "Aging Well with Smart Technology" that used a social constructivist approach by asking elderlies for opinions on the negatives of aging, such as their pain and sicknesses. It introduces the idea of smart technology such as home sensors or alert systems that tries to either prevent problems that arise from aging or increase the sense of security that elderlies sometimes lack. What was really interesting about this article is that the authors suggested that the costs of hiring people to handle these technological equipment may be even higher, because the elderlies at nursing homes could press the button for assistance out of need for "human response." Will the onset of technology breed new fears in older people? The general public also tends to use fear of learning how to operate technology as the primary reason for why there is a statistically low use of technology by seniors. However, I wondered if instead of fear it was actually the lack of accessibility for seniors, due to financial or other issues. I read an article called, "Accessibility and Usability of Information Technology by the Elderly", which introduced how the elderly do indeed have a lack of access to technology and some measures that the government can take to change this. As technology advances and a more prominent part of everyone's life, the public should take measures to attempt to make more efforts to engage the elderly into technology use. This way it breeds familiarity, eradicates fear, and provides the brain stimulation that the elderlies need in order to prevent the onset of dementia.
References
References
Cheek, P., Nikpour, L. & Nowlin, H. (2005). Aging Well With Smart Technology [Electronic version]. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 29 (4), 329-338. Retrieved 28 January 2012 from USC Libraries database.
(2007). Seniors Fear Loss of Independence, Nursing Homes More Than Death [Electronic version]. Marketing Charts. Watershed Publishing. Retrieved 29 January 2012 from http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/seniors-fear-loss-of-independence-nursing-homes-more-than-death-2343/
Browne, H. (2000). Accessibility and Usability of Information Technology by the Elderly. University of Maryland. Retrieved 30 2012 from http://otal.umd.edu/UUGuide/hbrowne/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)