Tablets, iPads Make Good Investments for Elderly
When you’re the primary caretaker for an elderly loved one, you’re always on the search for ways to make his or her life a little easier. While many older adults don’t have the same familiarity with new technologies as the younger generations who grew up in the computer era, user-friendly technical devices have many benefits. Also, seniors can easily adapt to the technology. Research conducted by geriatric experts has found that introducing portable technologies, such as mobile tablets like the iPad, can have a positive impact on seniors’ quality of life.
Tablet technology helps the visually impaired
One of the best aspects of tablet technology is its size. Many tablets can perform the same function as smartphones, but they have a much larger screen that makes it easier for people who have weak vision to use. The American Optometric Association reported that vision problems are likely to set in after age 60, including conditions like cataracts, glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration. Millions of older Americans are currently affected by age-related sight complications.
According to a study conducted by Concordia University, iPads are just as effective as traditional visual aids for the elderly. The research team conducted a study with 100 participants, more than half of whom had age-related macular degeneration. After testing the participants’ vision strength, the team provided several traditional visual aids as well as iPads to see how the technology would help with reading different texts.
“Unsurprisingly, we found that most participants found it hard to read small and medium text, while nearly a quarter of them reported that reading large text was much easier,” said Elliott Morrice, the first author of the study at Concordia. “What was interesting to note was that it didn’t matter what technology was used to do the magnification: an iPad worked just as well as a traditional device like a closed circuit television system.”
New users can easily adapt to these technologies. The study found that people who had previous experience using a tablet were able to read faster than participants using it for the first time, showing that with practice, operating these devices becomes easier.
Other benefits of smart technology
Smart technology, like tablets and smartphones, can make seniors’ life better in a number of ways. The Concordia research group concluded that not only do tablets help with magnifying text on the screens, because they can serve so many purposes, they may end up being more cost-effective.
Seniors won’t need a magnifying device for their books, a computer and a GPS, for example. On a practical side, they will be able to download books and can enlarge the text as much as they want on their tablets, get online to order medication, schedule appointments and exchange messages with their family. Personalized apps can remember their important details to save them time when they want to pay bills or rent a library e-book.
There are many fun aspects to these devices that are great for people’s states of mind as well. They can download puzzle games that help improve memory and concentration and can connect more easily with friends.
Accessibility devices can make it easier for seniors to communicate with people around them. Talk-to-text features can help them compose messages without typing, which is perfect for people with arthritis. Likewise, automatic closed-captioning services can translate phone calls into large-print text on a screen to help the hearing impaired keep up with their conversations.
Helping your loved ones stay engaged as they age is important to both their mental and physical health, so finding ways to make that easier and more cost-effective for your family should be a priority.
