Joseph F. Coughlin
Director of the MIT AgeLab
Joseph F. Coughlin is director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab (http://agelab.mit.edu). His research explores how demographic change, technology and consumer behavior drive innovations in business and society. Coughlin teaches in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Sloan School's Advanced Management Program. He is author of the new book The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World's Fastest-Growing, Most Misunderstood Market (Public Affairs, 2017).
Facebook’s IPO has innovation and entrepreneurship in the news. And the face of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg. The 27-year old Zuckerberg reinforces the image that many, if not most people, […]
Many people looking to bring new ideas to old age are still warm from the glow of LED and plasma displays at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show held in Las […]
Americans (and most everyone else in the world) are getting bigger. Yes, obesity is BIG news. Many of us have grown so large that the New York Times reports that […]
It’s that time again – the annual making of New Year resolutions. We all do it. A well thought out list of good intentions that we will execute faithfully on […]
Are you done? How many more days? Tick tock, tick tock. A recent Rasmussen poll may give you comfort or a kick. The nationwide survey conducted November 29-30, 2011 gives us […]
Innovation – everyone says they want it, but when it’s time to personally embrace it and change what they do everyday there is often reluctance, if not outright resistance. In […]
Retailers and their suppliers are about to see real and lasting change to the size of their businesses. Not necessarily in sales but in physical size. The future is small […]
Ah retirement…you know the vision – vistas of long beaches, fairways, sunsets with umbrella drinks. Baloney. This imagery worked as an ideal for those who thought they might retire early […]
The ‘generation gap’ of the 1960’s and 1970’s referred to the differences between the then young baby boomers and their parents about what was wrong and whatshould be – today […]
Who would ever think of aging and retirement as something new? The baby boomers are certainly not the first to grow old – but they are certainly headed for a […]
The top retirement planning strategy today is not to retire. Now that many are living longer and fearing the realistic risk of outliving their retirement savings, many people over 50 […]
Hurricane Irene is going down in the ‘top 10’ record books as more costly than anticipated only a week ago. It is hurricane season. Not exactly a surprise that a […]
Chronic disease plagues personal lives and public policy. Sheer numbers only begin to give a glimpse of the associated suffering, cost and scope of the problem. In the United States […]
An older workforce is a new world for employers. An endless supply of young workers and the social construction of ‘retirement ’ kept the average worker age relatively young. That […]
If you are 15 years old, 50 or 50 x 2 step away from the screen right now and go to a mirror and look…. Did you look carefully? Who […]
Who’s living the American Dream? A recent survey offers some interesting clues.
The release of the eighth film in a series of books and movies marks the end of the epic Harry Potter story. The series has received deserved accolades and is […]
Aging is not for wimps. Think about it. As you change your environment remains the same. Your kitchen cabinets are still the mess they were, but now the height seems […]
If you are in the housing and real estate development business, an investor or simply thinking about your own housing options the baby boomers are shaping your future fortunes again […]
Older workers are news these days. Consider two contrasting New York Times stories reported on the same day. Nelson Schwartz writes in Easy Out the Gray-Haired. Or Not., that older […]
Marketers and product developers are showing new interest in older consumers. That interest must include more than simply dusting off brands and banking on fond memories. Many brand strategists hold […]
Aging is new. Lifespans today in the industrialized world are 30-40 years more than they were 100 years ago. Older adults are among the fastest growing cohorts in developing economies. […]
It’s Mother’s Day. Are you thinking about mom? No, not because it’s Mother’s Day, but because mom is a trendsetter a virtual thermometer of what’s hot and what’s not. I […]
Change is good. It introduces the new and tests the assumptions of the old. I have made a change in the publishing strategy of disruptivedemographics.com. Beginning May 2011 ‘Disruptive Demographics’ will […]
MIT AgeLab is launching a new website. The updated content reflects the expanded research agenda of the Lab in transportation, health behavior, financial & longevity planning, and business & policy […]
The driving task has generally remained the same since the baby boomers learned to drive. That is about to change. New in-vehicle technologies are promising to make us more connected, aware […]
Communications and convenience giant (Nasdaq: RIMM) RIM, the maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry, sees a number of defining trends ahead. These reflect the themes of my own research and are […]
Few people can imagine their own old age – old age is always something that happens to parents, relatives and friends met at 30th reunions. Putting denial aside, with any […]
Ken Gronbach writes on CNBC.com that “Aging Boomers Could Spell Big Trouble for Walmart.” If true, this really is disruptive demographics when the world’s largest company is thought to be […]
Discussions of China tend to focus on size – a nation of over 1.3 billion people certainly deserves attention from business and investors worldwide. But, ‘total’ numbers reveal little about […]