Smartphone Apps to Help Older People Live Independently
Technology can be a great way to help your loved ones stay connected with others and manage everyday tasks at home, especially as elderly and high-risk individuals continue to maintain their distance from others.
It’s estimated that, as of 2018, 71% of adults in the UK between the ages of 55 and 64 use a smartphone, according to Statista. That percentage has risen substantially from 56% in 2015 and only 9% in 2012. Meanwhile, other estimates suggest that almost 20% of those older than 65 in the UK use smartphones.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of smartphone apps designed specifically for older individuals — apps to manage medical prescriptions and finances, help with everyday tasks and stay mentally and physically fit. Here are some of those apps that you might want to investigate.
Organisation and accessibility
- CamCard: Organise all of the loose business cards sitting around the house and easily transfer up to 500 into your phone’s address book free of charge
- Google Keep: Speak your notes aloud and easily store them on your phone in text form
- Be My Eyes: Chat with volunteers who can help read small text, fix a technology problem, or help with some other household task
Health
- My SOS Family: Send text, call and email alerts to family members when you hold your phone’s unlock button
- MyTherapy: Register for pill reminders and keep track of your health in one place
Finances
- RoosterMoney: Encourage your grandchildren to complete different chores and transfer money into their digital allowance funds
- Yolt: Track all of your accounts in one place rather than managing multiple dashboards and logins
Entertainment
- LibriVox: Listen to almost 30,000 free audio books online that are recorded by volunteers. (You can also volunteer to record your own audiobook and contribute to the worldwide library)
- Peak: Train your brain with 10 minutes of memory and language games every day. You can also see how you’re doing over time
More information
The team at Wikibuy rounded up 45 smartphone apps altogether, designed to help older individuals live independently. Check out the full list as well as their average user ratings.
Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger on Unsplash
