OLDER ADULTS AND TECHNOLOGY 19
Older Adult?s Use of Technology
Jezabel Acosta, Lupe Arceo, Maria Navarrete, and Petal Webster
Northeastern Illinois University
Technology is viewed by many people as an advantage to society, but to others it can be considered a disadvantage. We use it in our everyday lives with almost everything we do. There is a lengthy list of reasons we use technology for whether it?s for social, business or entertainment purposes; it can be used for just about anything. When it comes to older adults, technology can be considered very useful and a great contributor to making their lives easier. However, others may have different views. According to an interviewed older adult …show more content…
According to the article ?New Technologies Hold Great Promise for Allowing Older Adults to Age in Place? telemedicine is an innovative technology that allows in-depth diagnosis to patients from experts anywhere. It can monitor blood pressure, weight, blood sugar levels and other pertinent information. With these new accesses health crises can be prevented ahead of time (Marchibroda, 2015). As reported by the article ?The Past, Present, and Future of Telemedicine for Parkinson?s Disease? telemedicine is considered a healing from a distance technique used by medical providers to connect with patients through telecommunication technology. By increasing care to older adults this method provides access to help right away especially for the growing number of individuals diagnosed with Parkinson?s disease who have limited access to care (Achey et al., 2014). On the other hand the older adult interviewed did not have this view. This particular older adult feels that this form of technology is opening room for errors when it comes to medical records and he prefers going directly to the doctor?s office for a diagnosis and written medical …show more content…
Like I said it should be like? like 30 minutes, if at all. Ok, so the first question is: What are your opinions on how technology has changed our society?
(Slight pause)
I: Do you think it has made it better or worse?
Participant (P): No? It?s wrong. The technology has been changed... has been changed in the wrong way in order to hurt another human beings.
I: Technology? has..?
P: Yeah! (Looking for words.) ?Hasta grabando? (Spanish for ?Are you recording??)
I: It?s ok.
P: Oh, okay. All these iPads and all these stuff that they are getting on the market they only do damage to people to... you know? violate confidentiality? I mean... uhm.... producing crime. Things like that. That?s what I think of this new technology.
I: Right? okay.
P: That?s my opinion. I don?t agree with that... I mean, I don?t have any of this junk because I dislike it. I am totally illiterate about this thing. All I know is how to... how to... operate my PC and that?s all but? because I don?t agree with all this other stuff going on in the market that only serves, you know, to damage humanity and [increase] crime.
I: Ok?You actually answered the second one, which is: What are the positive and negative impacts you feel technology made on the world? So you think it had a negative impact