Elderly folks require special care and comfort to live healthy lives without anxieties and distress. Family members abuse the elderly due to a lack of information about their changing behavioral patterns at home. Elders desire a healthy, dignified life, financial independence, and quiet death.
They yearn for attention, love, and affection. Understanding their needs and concerns is crucial to their well-being. Giving elders emotional support keeps them happy, which is the best way to live a good life.
However, due to employment priorities, many people cannot provide care and attention to their elderly relatives. This is where apps can come in; thanks to technology. In this article, we have explored the 10 best apps for seniors and elderly people.
Table of contents
Who are seniors and the elderly?
Definitions of age are a shifting target. Some establishments provide senior discounts or memberships to those who have just turned 50, while social programs such as Medicare are normally unavailable to those under 65.
So, when does a person reach the age of retirement? Where do you draw the line between middle age and old age?
The quick answer is that it is dependent on the situation. However, while there is no widely accepted age at which people become senior citizens, most Western industrialized countries consider 60 or 65 to be the start of old age.
Most Americans retire now and become eligible for government support programs based on their age.
How can seniors live happier lives?
Finding a sense of purpose throughout the senior years might contribute to happiness, as older persons frequently have more time on their hands.
Making a conscious effort to discover meaning lowers the chances of depression and provides a healthy outlet for stress and frustration.
Fortunately, numerous methods exist for seniors to discover meaning and satisfaction later in life.
Volunteering locally, resuming lapsed hobbies or interests, and manufacturing crafts to sell for extra money are all possibilities.
Trying to read, using senior-friendly apps (like we will explore in this post), playing conventional or online word games, and discovering new skills are just a few ways for seniors to keep their minds active.
This increases happiness by keeping aging brains stimulated and engaged, which minimizes boredom and, to a degree, age-related cognitive loss.
Companionship from empathetic professional caretakers might also benefit seniors living alone.
Seniors might benefit greatly from the services of home care providers. Seniors can enjoy a higher quality of life with trusted in-home caregivers, whether they require around-the-clock supervision or need assistance with exercise and domestic activities a few days a week.
10 Best Apps for Seniors and Elderly People
#1. Luminosity:
Lumosity is a useful mobile software for assisting the elderly in improving their cognitive performance and brain health.
While this app is for people of all ages, it is especially beneficial to seniors because it challenges their minds and memories. All of the tasks in the app have been scientifically evaluated, so you know they’re effective.
Seniors need to log in each day to receive a new exercise. These brain training exercises get more customized to the person’s cognition and intelligence as they develop.
It is possible to increase problem-solving skills, processing speed, cognitive agility, attention, and memory using Lumosity.
SEE ALSO: Best gift ideas for elderly parents
#2 Facebook
Seniors who use Facebook’s web version on their desktop computers already know how useful it is for staying in touch with busy relatives and friends.
You can send messages or log on to see what your friends are doing. It’s a terrific way to get updates and images from older grandchildren who have graduated from high school or to watch a video of your first great-grandchild taking his initial footsteps.
Downloading the Facebook app for your iPad or smartphone may be a better solution for seniors with hectic lives.
While on the road, you may check in on what everyone has been up to, add a photo, or update your status with your activities.
#3. NPR
When you’re out having fun, it’s possible that you’ll miss your favorite news program or that you won’t have time to read the newspaper. The NPR app provides fast access to all of NPR’s fantastic content.
This app makes it simple to read the News section or keep up with what’s happening in the Arts & Life, and Music areas. NPR isn’t the only one.
You can download native apps from USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and many other news outlets to your device. Consider Paper by Facebook, Yahoo News, or Flipboard if you like to get your news from a single source. This is one of the best apps for elderly people.
#4 Abridge
How often have you gone to the hospital and only remembered one or two of the doctor’s recommendations? This can become even worse among seniors. Well, there’s a new free app called Abridge that you may use to record your doctor’s appointment.
It then highlights areas of the conversation that contain medical words, so you can go back and listen to what the doctor said regarding your cholesterol by clicking on that highlighted insight.
The program also generates a transcript of the chat and provides definitions for any medical jargon you may be unfamiliar with.
READ ALSO: 10 Best Netflix Movies for Elderly People
#5. Uber
If you can’t always be there to give your elder a ride, ridesharing is the next best thing. Uber is one of the two most common apps for this service (the other being Lyft).
You can assist your senior with creating a profile, which includes uploading a photo and some basic information. When your loved one wants a ride, they open Uber and make a request.
Uber claims that the service is now accessible in over 700 cities worldwide, with more on the way.
If an Uber driver is available to pick up the senior, the senior will get car information and a driver profile with a photo.
The senior can see how far away the driver is on a map that refreshes in real-time. Once in the car with the driver, the senior should continue to use the map to track their progress to the destination.
While Uber is free, older citizens must pay for Uber trips. They can use PayPal, Apple Pay, and credit or debit cards. This is one of the best apps for elderly people.
#6. Kitestring
If you’re worried about your senior riding in a car with strangers, Kitestring is a good option. Unlike the other apps, we’ve spoken about thus far; this one’s for you, the adult kid or caregiver.
Kitesting allows you to track how your senior is performing at any given time. The senior receives an SMS from the app inquiring about their well-being. After that, they should answer.
If they don’t, a message will be sent to you and any other emergency contacts regarding their failure to respond.
While Kitestring is primarily a phone app, it may also be used on a computer. Now, no matter where your life takes you, you’ll always have the peace of mind that comes with knowing whether or not your loved one is safe. Kitestring is a free app.
#7. Magnifying glass
Most elderly face a frequent problem: vision loss. They frequently require their reading glasses to go somewhere. With the free Magnifying Glass + Flashlight app, you or a loved one may now have “readers” on your phone.
This useful program will not only magnify small lettering and images up to five times, but it will also illuminate them, making them simpler to read.
It can also take screenshots of what you’re magnifying, which is useful for archiving important information.
Thanks to this magnifier, your loved one will no longer struggle reading fine print.
Simply move the screen slider while holding the mobile device’s camera over the desired text. The text will be illuminated and enlarged instantly, making reading a pleasure.
#8. WebMD
The most common challenges that seniors face in their daily lives are health concerns. New symptoms appear regularly, which can leave your loved one worried about what they mean.
He or she might be unable to see a doctor immediately to discuss the symptom. You don’t need to Google your symptoms and sift through results pages any longer.
You can check your symptoms, learn about probable health concerns, and prescription side effects, and discover doctors in your region using the free WebMD app.
This software also serves as a reminder system for taking medications. Having doctor-approved information at your fingertips can alleviate many of the worry that elders experience. This is one of the best apps for elderly people.
SEE ALSO: How to Add Apps to Child Profile on Kindle Fire | 2023 Simple Guide
#9. Kindle
Seniors’ minds can be kept busy, stimulated, and engaged by getting stuck in a good book. Reading increases memory, sharpens decision-making abilities, reduces stress, and helps you sleep better.
Reading can also help to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. With Kindle, you may read unlimited books from your phone, computer, or iPad. Seniors can not only read novels that will assist them in understanding their health problems, but they can also lose themselves in a Clive Cussler western or a John Steinbeck novel.
The chance to escape into a different environment can help seniors break up their day’s monotony.
Along with their reader’s circle, Kindle will make it easy for them to find the exact book they want to read. This is one of the best apps for elderly people.
#10. Librivox
Librivox can be a fantastic alternative if your loved one is a passionate reader but has a visual impairment. He or she can listen to over 27,000 audiobooks on the LibriVox app.
They can be watched live online or downloaded to watch later. LibriVox’s volunteer staff records new releases every day, therefore, there are new releases every day. And, best of all, it’s completely free!
The LibriVox catalog includes fiction and nonfiction works worldwide, such as novels, biographies, history books, short tales, classic bestsellers, historic radio dramas, poetry, and more.
Users in the United States can also pay for an additional 75,000 audiobooks, including new releases and bestsellers.
Conclusion
This is only a small selection of the numerous apps accessible. Today’s seniors are more digitally savvy than ever, and smartphone apps are one method to stay in touch with loved ones and the rest of the world.
While elders are less skilled at using smartphones than younger folks, they do own them. That’s also good because many apps can make a senior’s life easier. The apps we recommend in this post can aid the elderly right now with anything from brain training to medicine management, ridesharing, and location tracking.
References
- greatseniorliving.com/articles/senior-citizen-age
- seniorsafetyadvice.com/best-phone-apps-for-seniors/
- careasone.com/blog/the-10-best-apps-for-seniors-elderly-people/
Recommendations
