Senior Sleuth Guides

Another 10-year prediction—in 10 years the “Seniors are afraid of technology” theme will disappear from public discussion.  Why? Because in 10 years, the entire U.S. Baby Boomer population will officially be “Seniors.” That’s a huge chunk of people who not only lived and operated in the technology workplace, these people also INVENTED high tech.

Here are a few famous Senior (55+) technologists you may have heard of.

* Bill Gates (a.k.a. that nerdy Microsoft billionaire guy) turns 55 in October 2010.
* Steve Jobs (a.k.a. iSteve, the CEO of Apple) turned 55 in February 2010.
* Richard Branson (a.k.a. the cheesy handsome British industrialist and owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways and promoter of private space exploration) turns 60 in July 2010.
* Francis Collins (a.k.a. head of the human genome project) turns 60 in April 2010.

So what?

More and more Baby Boomers are going to shift into senior-dom with the above technology celebrities. These people will not fear technology because:

1. They’ve been using it for decades.
2. More and more products will be developed specifically for their demographic. (How could industry NOT address this gigantic Senior market?)

And as the Baby Boomers fill the marketplace, they’ll likely buy senior products for their still-living parents and siblings. Sure, the 90+ consumer might still be a little hesitant around technology, but I’ll be they give it a try when their sprite 60-something kid is telling them to try it.

The “old dog, new tricks” argument simply won’t apply anymore, because the next generation of old dogs will have created and embraced the tricks. They invented high tech, and you can bet your ass they are going to embrace it in their golden years.

Here’s a prediction. In just 10 years, you will know a dozen people who are living with their retired or elderly parents in some sort of a multigenerational house. I just heard an NPR program on Boomerang kids (i.e. college grads that move back in with their parents) that discussed how more and more kids are moving back in with mom and dad. The story also mentioned how the older folks are also moving in with their kids (i.e. mom and dad). In fact, the story cited a statistic that something like 16% of the population is currently living in multigenerational houses. (I assume this statistic is for multigenerational households excluding those houses with minors.) That’s a huge number! And it’s just going to get bigger.

Here’s why:

1. The 2008 recession seriously depleted retirement savings, and so soon-to-be retirees are considering alternate retirement housing options. One of these options is moving back in with their kids.
2. We’re living longer and we didn’t necessarily budget for that extra little blessing. Consequently, we might run out of money before we croak.
3. We like each other (usually). I like my parents. I like my kids. And I’m pretty sure they like me. This is a generalization (and I can’t back it up, so take it at face value) but families are communicating better and are creating more friendship-like relationships.
4. Multigenerational cohabitation is quite common just about everywhere else in the world. The influx of other cultural attitudes and our exposure to the rest of the world makes this seem less exotic.

So nearly 1/5th of America is living in multigenerational homes and a big chunk of that will be retired folks moving in with their middle-aged kids. That’s a huge number of people sharing a living space. And yet I don’t see any good comprehensive books on the in-law suite. I want a book that talks about the ins and outs of living with another generation. I want a book that discusses easy home renovations for multigenerational homes (e.g. accessibility ramps for the elderly and soundproofing for the recent college grad). I want a book that talks about financial arrangements, tax breaks, house rules, and awkward situations related to bringing home a girl/boyfriend.

Does anyone else want this type of book?

Note that there is already a good book on kids moving back in with their parents (Boomerang Generation by Elina Furman). I recommend it. But I would like to see a book that discusses cohabitation from the opposite side—seniors moving back in with their kids.

I actually came close to writing this book when my parents moved into an in-law suite that we built for them. But it didn’t work out—mostly due to declining health and mobility issues—so I thought I wouldn’t be the best guy to write it. Who wants to read a how-to book from a guy who couldn’t do it?

Did you have a better experience? Want to write a book about it?

I’ve been thinking about an upcoming author event, where I’ll be discussing Technology for Seniors. First, some details. If you’re in the area, stop by.

David Peterka: Technology for Seniors
Open Book in Shorewood, WI
Saturday, April 24, 1pm – 2pm

I’ll cover the basic background first:

* What is Senior Technology?
* Why are companies drooling at the growing (and changing) Senior demographic?
* What types of products (or categories) are included in the “Senior Technology” product group? (Hint: There are lots.)

That’s the easy stuff. Now I need to figure out which products/technologies I’m going to demonstrate. Here are a few ideas:

* Online chat and video chat. A quick demo on how you can chat with your kid or grandkid online.

* Fall detection device. A demo on how these devices automatically detect a fall and then send a message (text or phone call) to either a monitoring service or trusted contact.  (Note: I’m a little nervous about demonstrating this due to a bruised tail bone. I’m not as good of an ice skater as I thought.)

* Electronic pill dispenser. I think this would be really good for people to see. Taking incorrect medications at incorrect times is a serious problem among seniors. Many haven’t heard about these devices. The price tag at first seems a little steep, but not when compared to a trip to the ER.

* iPhone. Maybe I would just demonstrate how to send a text. This is much easier on the iPhone and would demystify what those kids are always typing on their phones.

That’s all I have so far. If you have a suggestion for a Senior product or service I should talk about, let me know and I’ll see if I can work it in.