This article is a collaborative post and includes affiliate links. Please see the disclosure page for more information. Disclaimer – always verify medical information with your doctor or a professional and follow all laws for your location.
For thousands of years, the elderly have always been respected. Despite this, some still believe that nothing good has come out of modern healthcare and technology advancement. There are some technological benefits to be embraced by the old guard today, like modern hearing device features which include connectivity to a Smartphone.
In ancient times, older adults who could no longer participate in society were left to fend for themselves or had to move into a family member’s house. However, today healthcare has made it possible for the elderly population to live longer, stay active, and enjoy life. Technology has also had a significant influence on healthcare and the longevity of an individual’s life. Medical advancements such as vaccines have helped decrease child mortality rates dramatically. The average person born in 1970 can expect to live ten years more than those born in 1952 due to these medical technologies. According to Statista.com, the average age of death in the United States has risen from 39.4 years in 1860, to 78.9 years in 2020. WOW! That’s some serious advancements!
Communication Devices and their benefits:
The technology that surrounds us today in our world is constantly evolving and changing. It almost seems to be advancing faster than ever before with new technology being developed all the time. We can communicate more efficiently, rapidly, seamlessly, and cheaply than we were only a few decades ago. New technology also has broadened our horizons and given us access to technology and an abundance of information that may have once been out of reach.
There are many technical benefits. Technology is constantly being updated to serve better the needs of everyone from children through to adults. For example, parents now have the choice of over 40 high-definition baby monitors. Young children can learn on tablets with applications designed for their specific age group, helping them learn and have fun simultaneously. Adults can also benefit from technology such as smart devices, which are now equipped with various new applications, including those aimed at seniors.
As technology has moved forward, new types of communication technology are now available. One of these is the smartphone. Not only can a person make phone calls through this type of technology, but they are also able to send emails and text messages and access the internet for social media and online banking. I like to think of smartphones as a computer I can carry in my pocket. It’s amazing!
For children who no longer have to be supervised by their parents, technology can provide a way to communicate with family members. Businesses can conduct virtual meetings with smartphones. But perhaps one of the greatest benefits this technology has provided is that it allows the elderly, to contact family members and friends.
In many cases, technology provides the elderly population with an opportunity to stay connected despite mobility issues that may limit their ability to venture out of the home alone. This is so good not just for medical reasons but also for mental and emotional health reasons. Can you imagine not being about to contact a loved one to check up on them? In this last century, not everyone had a house phone; then not everyone had a answering machine; then some people didn’t have a car phone. Now people can “carry their phones in their pocket”! How amazing technology has changed in the last 100 years and how great it is to keep out hearts connected with family through this.
Healthcare advances and their benefits:
So much has changed in healthcare over the last 100+ years. Surgeons didn’t actually start washing their hands before surgery until 1870. In 1936, the pacemaker was invented. In the 1940s dialysis was created. In the late 1950s Yale used an ultrasound device to detect the heart of a preborn baby. The 1970s was the first time an insulin pump was used. Science fiction met with healthcare by marrying robotics and lasers with surgery. Sooo in the 1990s the first bionic limb was used! wow!!! And now in the 2000s there are 3d printed body parts.
ISN’T THAT INCREDIBLE!
While all these amazing things have been happening there are a couple downsides. One unfortunately is that many older people cannot afford healthcare or do not seek out healthcare when necessary. This could lead them into debt or death altogether. I’ve known a couple stubborn older people that refuse to go to the doctor. sigh! On the other hand, healthcare technology allows an individual to stay at home and there are so many inventions and ideas that have been created that help people live longer and have a more fulfilled lives.
Healthcare and technology have had both positive and negative effects on older people in society. However, these technologies have allowed older generations to experience independence and live longer lives.
Click here for more Health&Beauty articles.
If you are feeling down or depressed for more days than not, please seek medical attention. If you are feeling like you cannot go on, please call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or chat here>>> https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/ Or visit the suicide prevention lifeline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
",
source:"wp"
});
[…] health of your skin is not something you can overlook as you get older either. Your skin is less able to repair itself in older age, and you become more likely to sustain […]