Ironically, the growth of new disruptive technologies is only rivaled by the growth of disruptive demographics in an aging marketplace. These two forces collide and are reconciled by designers on […]
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Innovative product design is increasingly crucial as the generally educated and wealthier boomer consumer rises to the fore of the marketplace with a lifetime of technology experience and rising expectations […]
“…Should I stay or should I go now?If I go there will be troubleAn if I stay there will be double…” The Clash (1982) […]
A baby boomer turns 64 nearly one every seven seconds. Perennially youthful, butno longer young the nation’s largest generation is now well into middle age andbeyond. Born between 1946 and […]
Too many designers, marketers and concerned observers have declared universal design to be the universal answer to meet the new needs of the growing numbers of older baby boomer consumers. […]
It’s that time of year again. It’s summer time and olderdrivers are in the news. Perennially trapped between humor and horror thedebate on older drivers continues in every state house, […]
The future of financial services will be more than managing money. The longevity gains of the last century present a financial risk that previous generations rarely encountered — a lifespan […]
Family caregiving is a privatejob of love and work. Recently it has been getting public agenda status from anunexpected industry – financial services. While caregiving is a well studiedtopic among […]
I had the pleasure to participate in the AARP-sponsoredAtlantic Magazine Forum “What’s Next? How Technology will Revolutionizethe Boomer Generation” in Washington, DC at the infamous yet iconicWatergate office building. Alexis […]
MIT News Office‘s Peter Dizikes came by the AgeLab to discuss our research on older drivers and mobility. He posed three questions to me addressing: Source: Peter Dizikes, MIT News […]
The convergence of technology and aging continues toreceive prominent attention from researchers in medicine, engineering andgerontology. The UCLA Center on Aging held its third annual Technology & Aging Conference“Science Changing Lives” […]
My commentary onthe transportation needs of an aging America (How to Avoid a Surge of Shut-Ins)appeared October 20, 2010 in the New York Times Opinion section Room for Debate. I […]
Earlier this month Bank of America Merrill Lynch produced a webcast on “Health Care in Retirement”. Thewebcast was part of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Help2Retire webcast series.I was pleased […]
According to the American Association of Retirement Communities, nearly 15,000 baby boomers retire every day – and visit and selecta community to live – an extraordinary number by any estimate. […]
Older drivers. Safe? Not safe? A perennial question andstory for families, legislatures and ultimately the media. Each accidenttriggers passion, a call for policy, but mostly a call for help. Unfortunately,the […]
Much to the dismay of theirchildren, baby boomers are online and doing more than checking out pictures offamily members and exchanging recipes. Boomers are moving to online communitiesto help them […]
TheMIT Enterprise Forum Northwest held Boomers, Technology & Health: Consumers Taking Charge in Seattle, Washington on January 19, 2011. The event examinedthe role of baby boomers in future technology innovation […]
The auto industry is slowly coming back. Not just in termsof revenues but back to boomers. For nearly all products, the baby boomers of Australia,Europe, North America, as well as […]
Sun, sea and sand – for many these are the ingredients ofthe ideal retirement destination. But does a leisurely walk on the beach or fairwaycontribute to healthy aging? While these […]
MIT AgeLab AGNESAge Gain Now Empathy System Old age is not new, but integrating the demands of older consumers into the design process for products that are fun and fashionable […]
Data dense and seemingly dry, demographic change and transportation are two topics that by themselves do not readily grab the attention of the public. Yet, these are two inter-related factors […]
AGNES (Age Gain Now Empathy System) was developed atthe MIT AgeLabto provide a tool for students, researchers, government agencies and companiesto better understand, empathize and develop innovations to meet the […]
Old age is hard work. Managing the inherent complexities of aging or caring for those who areolder is both a personal challenge and opportunity for innovation. In a study conducted by […]
Happy Valentine’s Day!Cards, candy and…connecting online? Older adults are among the fastest growing age group meeting and matching digitally.Worldwide more older adults are finding love online. Match.com reports that 22%of its […]
By now everyone has heard (and heard again…and again) thatthe American baby boomers are aging. Even their Canadian cousins are aging – infact marginally grayer then their neighbor to the […]
PC World cried out two years ago – Are Baby Boomers Killing Facebook and Twitter? Younger users were described as losing their digitalplayground to commercialization and (evenworse) to their parents. […]
The scale and scope ofdevastation in Japan from the earthquake and tsunami is only beginning to beunderstood. In coming days and weeks we will have the dismal numbers of liveslost […]
Before chemistry was ‘chemistry’ there was alchemy. Alchemists sought to change gray lead into gold, well, gold. Sounds reasonable. The atomic number of lead is 82. Gold’s atomic number is […]
Joe Coughlin on Businesses Banking on Boomers (click here to view interview) CBS Sunday Morning aired its annual ‘Money’ show today andincluded a segment on baby boomers – The New […]
Old age is not what it used to be. Pensions were defined and assured. Not for all, but the ‘dream’ of retirement was a sunny day at the beach. The […]