Perhaps you’re retired and have lots of time your hands. Maybe, you’ve been working your whole life and never took the time to take on tech. Whatever the circumstances, whatever your age, technology need not be daunting. In fact, it can be fun!
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| Jamaica National Pensioners Association AGM Presentation |
The World Bank reports that the average Jamaican life expectancy is about 74 years of age. I’d hate to discredit the World Bank, but my own observations put the average about 10 years later than that. If I’m right (and I often am), you could live for 20 years between retirement and well, you get the point.
If you want to truly enjoy those 20+ years, focus on the things that can maintain, or better yet, improve your quality of life. Look out for the tools and experiences that help you stay in contact with family and loved ones, that help you stay healthy, stay in the know, stay financially fit and of course, stay independent.
Technology can help you stay.
Stay In Contact
The grandkids may be far away, but apps like Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp make video conference as simple as pushing a button and talking face to face. No more lonely nights or weekends, no more boring conversations with fellow seniors. Retirees can feel like they are right there in the room.
Video gaming can be a natural extension of video conferencing. Take talk to the next level and learn how to really engage the rug rats on their level by mopping the floor with them (virtually speaking) in a online RPG (Role Player Game).
If the fam proves too busy to connect, consider connecting with a new job. Lots of seniors rejoin the workforce on a “limited” basis thanks to teleworking. Book editors, accountants and a host of service related professionals earn real money on their own time.
Stay Healthy
Sitting behind a desk, even for a short time, doesn’t contribute to your physical health. So, rather than sit, get up and go, with a fitness tracker and heart rate monitor, both paired with an app that automatically reviews data from the wearables and sets fitness goals based on your unique digital profile. It sounds like a lot, but it can work seamlessly once configured.
Machines in moderation - Skype in your personal physician to review the fitness data and goals, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home (or cruise or wherever).
Listen up, you can even upgrade your outdated hearing aids to custom moulded in ear monitors with on board Bluetooth. When my Dad had a private call on ‘speaker', thanks to his audio boosting, wireless ear pieces, I realized that he was hipper than me!
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| Being schooled by a tech savvy Jamaica National Pensioner |
Stay in the Know
Speaking of hip, nothing is hipper than being able to participate in the water cooler (or now I guess it all happens on Facebook) conversation. Ditch the papers thrown at your front door and get online for a wider range of news. Take it a step further, get online for a course or degree. Like teleworking, online educations afford flexibility and low cost learning.
Stay Financially Fit
Costs become even more important on a fixed income. Save time, and most importantly money, by skipping the senior line in the bank in favour of banking and online bill payments. Monitor your statements for suspicious activities (and trends), send (or receive) money for the young ones and rack up savings with those loyalty cards and virtual coupons.
Just because you’ve got some time on your hands doesn’t mean you got money to waste.
Stay Independent
After all, you are smart and independent. Building on those traits, we can look out for consumer grade GPS trackers, heart rate/blood pressure monitors, self driving cars and smart homes reducing the need for personalized in home care while maximizing self-sufficiency.
Look forward to being older, its the time when you get to tech it easy and stay in life.
Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM
