Telemedicine or telehealth — the terms are often used interchangeably — is not a perfect remedy in every case. You’ll still need to seek in-person care during an actual medical emergency.
But for more routine health scenarios, a remote visit may be just what the doctor ordered. You won’t have to mess with public transportation, drive yourself or get someone to take you.
Worth noting: COVID helped catalyze another health-related trend, a rise in the number and types of medical tests you can take on your own from home, from identifying respiratory viruses to testing your own eyesight, with more to come.
3. Smart cars make driving safer
Much has been written about self-driving cars, a prospect that both intrigues and wigs out drivers of any age. While you’re not quite ready to let go of the wheel, the car you drive may already boast several other driver safety technologies, including lane departure alerts, blind-spot warnings and, should the worst happen, automatic crash notifications.
Watch for tech innovations that not only help people drive or autonomously chauffeur them around, but also assist with the challenge of getting older adults in and out of the vehicle and from the curb to the front door.
4. Alternate realities engage your mind
Some older adults have begun embracing virtual reality (VR) to overcome mental, physical and social challenges that can come with aging.
By donning VR headsets such as Quest from Facebook parent Meta, folks can attend concerts, confront phobias, do physical therapy, exercise, play virtual mini-golf or ping-pong, rekindle memories, scale mountains, travel to exotic places and even feel like they’re sharing a physical space with loved ones who live far away. The headsets fully immerse a person in a simulated environment that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to otherwise experience in real life.
Of course, wearing a contraption on your head isn’t for everyone. While some see VR and another interactive technology, augmented reality (AR), as opening doors to what is vaguely known as the metaverse, questions linger about how the physical and virtual worlds will collide or complement each other.
Rather than going all immersive, augmented reality layers virtual stuff on top of your view of the real world. These days, several games such as Pokémon GO, first released in 2016; Harry Potter: Wizards Unite; and Geocaching use the technology. The tape measure app built into your iPhone also uses augmented reality.
You don’t need a headset or special glasses to check out games and other AR experiences on your smartphone. But keep an eye on Apple, widely expected to soon unveil a sure-to-be expensive “mixed reality” VR/AR headset with longer-term pricing and use cases still to be determined.
5. Smart homes keep you independent
The all-things-connected-to-the-internet smart home hasn’t always been so smart or intuitive for users because products from one brand haven’t always played nice with products from another. Devices fall under the internet of things (IoT) rubric, and they encompass gizmos that include garage door openers, smart lights and plugs, security cameras, speakers and televisions.
