Will Baby Boomers Become Seniors? Whatever They Become They’ll Be all over Technology
Will baby boomers always be known as boomers, or will they take on the moniker seniors' when they become 80, 90, 120 … . ? Hmmmmmm … . In our Age Wave Study, most boomers said they were fine with the term senior, but we didn’t ask them if they’d be called boomers or seniors … that would have been interesting … what do you want to be called when you’re in your 90s or 100s? - Mary Furlong, the entrepreneur who started the SeniorNet program, will be holding her informative 'What’s Next?' Boomer Business Summit in Washington, D.C. Several people have attended these in the past from Ecumen and have found it interesting. As a preview, here is a Q&A conference organizers did with Wall Street Journal technology columnist, Walt Mossberg: Q. What are the trends and products in personal technology that will assist the senior population with loss of vision, arthritic hands, etc?A. I think that speech recognition and text speech recognition are becoming more common and are more in demand. The industry is slowly beginning to respond to this need; however, it is not widespread. Cell phone companies have produced phones with larger buttons that are in greater demand today. For example, Verizon Wireless has a new phone aimed at seniors. The primary focus is on simplicity and clarity, and this is not just for seniors, this is what everyone wants. A cell phone trend that is aimed not just for seniors is the development of bigger and clearer phone screens.Q. Based on questions you receive from readers, what are the unmet needs that technology manufacturers need to pay attention to in order to address these needs?A. The primary unmet need within the technology industry is simplicity and readability across the board, for all age groups. All people care about is that their technology works. Manufacturers claim they are addressing this unmet need but they often have mixed agendas and priorities. They often add the latest feature before it is ready.Q. How important is design in creating products for the baby boomer population?A. Design is important for every population, from the college student to the retiree. Design in every sense of the word is crucial. Hardcore techies may not appreciate how things look, but themainstream population of all ages appreciates beautiful design. They want products to be both functional and attractive and fit into their lifestyle, home, car, office, etc. In the last 5-6 years, there has been a resurgence by Apple in the music and phone arenas on designing beautiful products. They know how to package together fantastic design with power.Q. What, in your view, are the most critical issues shaping technology as they relates to the boomer market?A. Baby boomers have the most money. They buy a lot of technology, web subscriptions, etc, so they are big spenders. As long as the technology products and services they want to buy have the right features and are at the right price, they will continue to buy these products and services.Q. What do you think will shape the national conversation about boomers this year?A. The major national agenda item will be about the generational transfer. A large cohort of the population will be reaching retirement age, which will have a tremendous impact in many facets of life in this country and around the world. There will be competition for resources and jobs, and elder care and healthcare issues will play a larger role in the future.
Little Old Lady With a Prius: A Bad Headline
So yesterday in Minnesota the State Legislature voted to override Governor Pawlenty’s veto of a gas tax. The result: Minnesota’s first gas tax hike in 20 years … . and bad headline writing.Today’s Saint Paul Pioneer Press featured a chart to show the gas tax impact. It created three categories of drivers, labeling them as:1. Gas Guzzler2. Middle of the Road3. Little Old Lady with a Prius.Enough with the cute, old labels. Why not call the Middle of the Road' person, a 'big, middle-aged person.' It wouldn’t cross the mind.
When Long-Term Care Becomes Wrong-Term Care
Innovator Sean Kershaw, who leads the Citizens League, one of the country’s top non-partisan civic engagement organizations, calls for a new civic and intergenerational approach to aging. He writes in his most recent 'Viewpoint' article …The term 'long-term care' is revealing. Long-term care is usually about long-term loss: the loss of authority, money, health, and connections to family and community. Our system is based on an expert and medical model of passive consumption and limited choices. And because none of us really want this, we avoid talking about it or planning for it … We need to begin an intergenerational discussion to redefine the issue in radically new - civic - terms … We should talk about how we all age, not just about 'the elderly'; about harnessing wisdom and building individual capacity, not just providing more/better services and care. We should talk about health and wellness, not just chronic illness; about taking personal responsibility for our retirement and for the economic health of future generations, not just how we pay the bills for the current troubled system … You can read Sean’s full Viewpoint article here.
The Purpose Prize: 10 Days to Nominate
| There are only two weeks left to nominate individuals you know over 60 who are changing the world! Civic Ventures is accepting nominations, including self-nominations, at www.PurposePrize.org until March 1st. |
| The Purpose Prize provides fifteen awards of up to $100,000 to social entrepreneurs, 60 years and older, who are solving the world´s toughest problems. They can be leaders within nonprofit, government, or private sector institutions or organizations whose innovative ideas were put into action after they turned 50. |
The Age Wave: Mickey and Minnie Mouse Want to Ride it
Who’s that riding the Age Wave? Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Japan. According to Telegraph.UK.Com, Disney Japan has announced new pricing structures focused on wooing older customers with their grandchildren.Japan has the largest proportion of seniors in the world, with close to 20 per cent of the nation’s 127 million residents over 65, a figure that is going to continue to grow.This May a guest from Disney, which is recognized globally for its customer service and hospitality, is going to be keynoting our annual Ecumen Leadership Conference, a gathering of 500 Ecumen leaders. We’re going to be carrying over the discussion on 'It' that we’ve been having here at Changing Aging.
What Do You Want in Aging Services: Normal or Original?
78 million people are on the verge of becoming seniors in the U.S… …Which definition should define aging services?NORMAL: 1. of or conforming to the accepted model, pattern or standard 2. not abnormalORIGINAL: 1. having to do with an origin, source or beginning. 2. never having existed before. 3. created or invented independent of already existing ideas or works.
Is an Aging Society A Problem? One Futurist’s View
Soon a lot more communities are going to have more seniors than children. Is an aging society a problem? It very well could be. Or it could mean some mind blowing, incredible innovation.Stephen Aguilar-Millan is a futurist in the U.K. His blog post The Olderpreneurs looks at how future seniors will create a 'Grey Economy,' creating businesses with each other and doing business with each other. When I look at how boomers view their work future in the Ecumen Age Wave Study, I see Stephen’s futurist view makes a lot of sense today.
Aging Services in Minnesota: Want to Help Shape its Future?
For Our Twin Cities-area Readers:Want to give 1 hour and 15 minutes in a Pilot Project for the Next Generation of Aging Services?The Citizens League is seeking volunteers to help it test a segment of an exciting initiative it is working on in the arena of aging services. If you are interested in participating in the session on the evening of Feb. 28th below at St. Paul College, please contact the Citizens League at (651) 293-0575. They’d like to hear from you so that they can schedule you in either the 5 p.m. group or 6 p.m. group.Here’s Some BackgroundThe Citizens League, a leading Minnesota non-partisan civic engagement and public policy organization, is going to be developing a citizens workshop later this year called 'Imagining a New Generation of Aging Services.' (Ecumen is sponsoring the workshop). At the workshop, participants will discuss what they want in senior services and help identify new products and services to improve senior care services in Minnesota. The results will frame a follow-up body of work led by the Citizens League to determine what specifically needs to happen from a public policy perspective to turn these products and services into reality.Your Help on February 28thTo make the workshop as successful as possible, the Citizens League is testing a portion of it on February 28th at the Citizens League Policy Open House (described in the link below) at Saint Paul College. They are seeking participants for an hour and 15 minutes at either 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. A facilitator will be asking participants to write down their vision for growing older and then discuss as a group what are the 'products' that would make these visions for aging possible. There will be other things going on that evening during the Policy Open House besides this discussion, you can learn more about those below.http://citizensleague.org/events/past/2008/02/policy_open_hou.php
Age Wave Innovation: 12 People Who Are Changing Aging in the United States
While there are many more than 12 people who are Changing Aging' across the United States, here are 12 that Kelly Greene of the Wall Street Journal focused upon on Friday. At Ecumen, we’ve had the pleasure to work with two of them: Eric Dishman, who heads up innovation in Intel Corporation’s Digital Health Group, and Dr. William Thomas, the Dr. Spock of Aging and who also authors a 'Changing Aging' blog. When you look at the areas they identify, you see key areas for innovation and 'Changing Aging' in America:- Technology- Housing- Financial Planning- Work- Volunteerism- Transportation- Community Planning and Design- Wellness and Health Care- Lifelong Education- Public Policy
Google Gets It. Kudos This Valentines Day!
A Salute to Google. Check out their graphic this Valentine’s Day. Aging is all about living.