CHICAGO: According to Forrester Research, 82% of boomers regularly use the internet.
Most online boomers regularly use a laptop, and within the younger half of this internet-connected group, more than 40% own a smartphone. A 2012 Nielsen report said that boomers made up 41% of Apple computer purchasers.
Recognising the needs and potential of such a market, companies are developing a variety of health-related technologies geared toward the needs of people in their 50s and 60s. Some of the technologies are aimed at the baby boomers themselves and others at helping people care for aging parents.
Wearable devices that read a user’s heart rate and blood pressure, “smart” refrigerators that can help adult children keep track of their aging parents’ nutrition from far away, and sensitive floor pads are being manufactured to detect falls.
PillPack, an online pharmacy, delivers pills by mail in small plastic sleeves, organised by dose and time of day. Each packet is labelled with the date and time to take the clearly marked medicine…