Daylight savings time looms, and the U.K.’s BBC is planning a brilliant use for the “lost hour.” Its “Give An Hour” campaign is a wonderful idea as it encourages people all over the U.K. to spend an hour showing someone over 55 how to use the Internet for the first time. One of the things [...]
Computer Training for Seniors
The OASIS Institute, a national educational organization that focuses on the 50-and-over set, has received a $625,000 contribution from AT&T to expand its Connections technology training program over the next year. With the funds, OASIS will expand its workforce skills training program for adults over the age of 50 and increase technology training for both [...]
Silver Surfers: Seniors Catching Up to Millennials Online
Silver Surfers. It’s a term I only recently stumbled across. While to many it’s a comic book character, the term is coming into prominence to refer to people 55 and over who are active online. The younger “millennial” generation is the one that comes to mind for most people when they think of Internet technology, [...]
Seniors Going Social!
Social media is everywhere, and quite often that even means grandma’s house. More and more seniors are flocking to online platforms by the day. Joshua Brockman at NPR gives us some stats on the amazing adoption rate: According to comScore, a digital measurement company, 27.4 million people age 55 and over engaged in social networking [...]
Making Technology Easier for Seniors
The newest viral hit on YouTube is an adorable video of an elderly Oregon couple inadvertently recording themselves learning how to use a video camera. The video had roughly 750,000 hits as of Wednesday night; at the time of this writing, that number is closer to two million! About a month ago, Esther and Bruce [...]
The Mayo Clinic: Aging in Place
As the years pass, the issue of being able to live at home comes up. While many seniors enter assisted-living facilities in their later years, they don’t always wish to. In a number of cases, they don’t have to, especially with a little bit of help. Here is a little bit about the new project [...]
Robots’ Role in Elder Care
Robots might seem like something strictly found in science fiction or among toys, or in a distant reality, but they might become a part of everyday living sooner than you think. Andrew Ng, an associate professor of computer science at Stanford University, says, “We’re not yet there, but I think that in less than a [...]
Improved Hearing, Improved Quality of Life
The statistics for hearing loss vary a bit depending on the source, but it is often cited as the number-one health issue in the world and the third most common health issue in the United States, where it affects as many as 37 million people. Hearing loss can affect anyone at any age, but presbycusis — hearing [...]
Improved Resources for Aging Drivers
An important aspect of independent living for anyone, regardless of age, is mobility. In the next 20 years, as baby boomers age, 20% of the American population will belong to the elderly demographic, according to U.S. Census data. On the Senior Housing News blog, contributor Alyssa Gerace writes, A recent Transportation for America study showed [...]
Video Games Aid Balance, Brain Power
Fall prevention is a frequent topic here on the firstSTREET blog, and with good reason. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are common in adults over the age of 65, and 30% – 45% of people in this age group fall per year. The CDC estimates that by 2020, medical [...]
