David Waldie is the Managing Director of Frontier Networks, a technology company that has been working with the largest senior housing industry operators for more than five years to get technology right in their communities. Frontier Networks is now offering its experience directly to seniors in their own homes.

Understanding the role technology can play in your home as you grow older will help you feel in control.

Although Frontier Networks has been predominantly working with the senior housing industry over the last five years, we’re now offering our experience directly to those getting older in their own homes because we understand this is so often where people do want to grow old.

We conduct a lot of research, and most recently we interviewed older Australians about their pain points with technology, and with their needs as they age.

Why is technology important?

We know from our research the most valued technology in the home is not technology at all – it’s people. It’s the people who help make the technology work, who help simplify and curate technologies and help to set it up.

What we found is that people want help with passwords and log-ins, they want help setting things up, but they often feel embarrassed or guilty about asking family. If we can get it all working, and get past the frustrations, we know it can be a liberating experience for everyone.

We also know that monitoring health and wellness is important. People want unobtrusive technology, they want help with fall and injury/emergency detection, but they don’t want to bother family and they value their privacy and independence above all.

Lastly, we know that older Australians want community. Isolation can be detrimental, and enabling a sense of community to help defeat isolation is an important function of the technology. You or your loved ones will want to be able to connect to your family and friends. For those used to doing this on the phone, they just want help to start doing this with email, and with other social media.

"The most valued technology in the home is not technology at all – it’s people. It’s the people who help make the technology work, who help simplify and curate technologies.” – David Waldie

We also know that monitoring health and wellness is important. People want unobtrusive technology, they want help with fall and injury/emergency detection, but they don’t want to bother family and they value their privacy and independence above all.

Lastly, we know that older Australians want community. Isolation can be detrimental, and enabling a sense of community to help defeat isolation is an important function of the technology. You or your loved ones will want to be able to connect to your family and friends. For those used to doing this on the phone, they just want help to start doing this with email, and with other social media.

Technologies and gadgets for your home

Whether you’re kitting out your own home or that of your loved ones, here are some technologies and services recommended by David.

  1. Tablets – older Australians are adopting tablet devices, such as the Apple iPad or Samsung Galaxy, faster than any other technology or gadget. This is because they are easy to set up, intuitive to use and offer the convenience of mobile ‘go anywhere’ connectivity.
  2. Eevi.life (a platformed owned by Frontier Networks) – we have worked with seniors and our partners to develop platforms that allow older people to stay in control, and keep their carers and children informed. Eevi.life was created by Frontier Networks as a reliable and discrete personal assistant on Google Home. You choose the role eevi.life plays in your life, from checking in to personalised care management.
  3. Samsung Gear watch – it has a mobile connection so you can talk to people. As it’s an open platform, you can use it for an emergency response device, in the garden or at the shops – basically any time you’re out and about. The combination of emergency monitoring, general health information and telling the time are all in one elegant form that’s easy to wear and use.
  4. Google Home – voice assistants like Google Home are a great platform for enabling care, ranging from a daily check-in that informs your carer or loved ones that you are up and about simply by saying, “OK Google, check-in”, to a voice-activated emergency alarm that enables you to get help in an emergency by saying, “OK Google, get help!” In addition, we’re beginning to transition many of our online interactions to voice assistants, for example, “What’s on in my calendar today?”
  5. Spotify, Netflix, Sonos and other music and movie streaming platforms – once they’ve been set up (with the help of a handy tech person), these are simple to use and add an enormous amount to your daily living. We know from research how good it is for our mental health as we age to immerse ourselves in the music and movies we love. So set this up, and enjoy that obscure jazz piece you loved as a young adult, or watch your favourite 50s movies again and again!

Technology and living longer

Technology, thoughtfully deployed, can help in so many ways to keep us young.

There are many ways it can do this:

  • Keeping connected to family and friends is critical to beat isolation.
  • Listening to the music of our youth is great for our mental health.
  • Many older people are lifelong learners, and technology provides access to new forms of learning and education.
  • If we have data on our health, we are more likely to take control of our health outcomes.

For us, what’s important is to talk to older people about the things they might want to start doing in their own homes with technology.

For you or your loved ones, are these factors important for you?

  • Imagine having a face-to-face conversation with your nearest and dearest friend, even if they live in another city or country.
  • Imagine keeping up with what the grandkids are doing day to day, even if you’re not able to see them for months at a time.
  • Imagine having access to all the music and movies you love
  • Imagine being able to start a university degree at an overseas university as a mature aged student, from the comfort of your couch.

All these things are possible today with technology, but someone has to guide them.

What does the ideal home look like?

When you’re thinking about how technology can help to create the ideal home as you or your loved one grows older, it looks a lot like the home of anyone who is living comfortably – because the technology is unobtrusive and personalised.

  • A mobile tablet device means you can be connected to friends, family and the community.
  • A watch with an alarm or fixed alarm device in the home means you have peace of mind that you can get help in an emergency.
  • Voice assistants like Google Home can be helpful if you want to check in with family and friends daily.
  • Discrete monitoring technology personalised for your care needs means you have someone to guide you if your care needs change.

Overall, it’s technology to provide help when you need it.

The small win

What excites me most about working in this field? Empowerment is a good way to describe it.

For us, the best experience is the small win. I have been in an older gentleman’s home – someone who lives alone – when he sent an email to his daughter for the first time. It seems small, but his daughter lives interstate and she had been trying to get her dad to send her an email for two years, just as another way to stay in touch. It’s a simple thing, but you should have seen how impactful it was.

What to remember

Technology plays an important role in enabling us to grow older comfortably and confidently in our own homes, and personalising that technology is what will help maximise the way it can truly help. For example, there’s no point giving someone a big, clunky emergency pendant if they refuse to use it.

Ageing is a journey, and making the technology solution work exactly right for someone requires time.

Start with simple things, including quick and easy ways to check in that aren’t obtrusive or limiting on freedom. As care becomes more acute, so the technology can become more interventionist – e.g. wandering alerts and dementia management, sensors that alarm on inactivity, automations of functions like lighting by voice assistants.

Technology is moving fast, which means it can become more personalised to an individual’s needs.

For more information, call the Five Good Friends and Apia Care Advice line on 1300 50 27 42.