JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Worldwide, there is an unprecedented and ongoing expansion of both the (i) proportion of older adults in society, and (ii) innovations in digital technology. Within the next three decades the number of older adults (aged 65 years and above) will outnumber children (aged 15 and younger). This shift in the population age structure has myriad implications for healthcare, as increasing numbers of individuals requiring care put greater demands on already heavily burdened healthcare systems. In order to address these challenges, we must look to innovative ways of studying the processes of aging. The breadth, depth, and granularity of information available through technology-driven data collection and analysis mechanisms has the potential to improve our capacity to research, understand, and address the implications of an aging population. However, whilst there is also great opportunity in harnessing these technologies, there are equally as many challenges. Notably, older adults may experience the first-level digital divide, i.e. lack of access to technologies, and/or the second-level digital divide, i.e. lack of use/skill. In order to harness the numerous benefits of these innovative research methods and techniques, we must first engage older adults in a meaningful way and adjust the framework of traditional mHealth smart devices for the unique physiological and psychological characteristics of the aging populace. Through an informed approach to the development of technologies with older adults in mind, the hope is that we can leverage these innovations to increase the quality and quantity of life experienced by the growing population of older adults.