Technology Links Young and Old
October 16, 2009
Not long ago, there was a stigma attached to wearing hearing aids, despite their indispensability for millions of Americans. Everything was done to camouflage the clunky flesh-colored or clear plastic pieces that wrapped around and inside the ear.
Yet today, millions of cell phone users walk around with brightly colored metallic ovals dangling flamboyantly from their ears.
“There has been a shift in our thinking about technology, so that it is everywhere,” says Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, director of the Nurse Social Work Practitioner Program at the USC School of Social Work.
Jordan-Marsh sees this embrace of technology as a potential sea change in the interaction between generations.
“Cybertechnology has reinvigorated the potential engagement between young and older adults,” she adds.
Jordan-Marsh, who began her research decades ago in pediatrics and recently has been studying gerontology, merged her two interests as she has started developing “exergames,” which can help obese children, or senior citizens who need to get into shape after surgery.
She is partnering with professors at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and staff at the USC School of Cinematic Arts to explore how interactive video games can be designed to improve players’ health behaviors and outcomes. They are studying the effectiveness of games and online social networks in promoting lifestyle changes that result in greater physical activity.
Jordan-Marsh sees video games as an opportunity for grandparents and grandchildren to play together.
“In the United States, there has been some lost respect for older adults,” explains Jordan-Marsh, whose book, Health Technology Literacy: A Transdisciplinary Framework for Consumer-Oriented Practice, is due out in 2010. “Cybertechnology levels the playing field.”
For example, phones can be set to display the caller’s photo — a convenient memory aid. Universal design standards make it easier to navigate the Internet. And smart homes are on the verge of leveraging technology to make living spaces a part of daily health care. Jordan-Marsh notes that while these advances help everyone, they are especially helpful for older people.