How Can Modern Technology Improve the Lives of Ireland’s Elderly?

The advent of the internet brought with it the promise that our lives would be changed immeasurably for the better. While this is true – information has never been more accessible, and we’ve never had easier methods to communicate with one another – people often take these as a given. But the older generation will remember what life was like before instant messaging, quick Wikipedia searches, and video calls.

Statistical reports indicate that 68% of 60 to 74-year-olds use the internet. Facebook announced that there are 1.2 million users over the age of 40 in Ireland, compared to only one million below it. So, it’s clear that older generations – despite any stereotypes suggesting otherwise – are keen internet users. But how has modern technology had a positive impact on the life of elderly people in Ireland?

How Important is Staying Mentally Active?

One of the most important things to consider as we age is the need to stay active – not just physically, but mentally. Chicago’s Northwestern University neurologist Marcel Mesulam coined the term ‘superagers’ to study 65-year-olds who had sharper brains than those decades younger. Their secret was keeping their mind strong through learning new things and daily mental exercise.

A study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicated that memory boosting exercise and tasks helped build fluid intelligence, which aids in problem-solving. Rather than building a specific intelligence – such as through reading books or developing people skills – this intelligence helps them to be analytical and logical in thinking. These skills will help keep the brain sharp into older age.

New activities are often cited as helping to keep you sharp, as you can grow used to the same ones. So, it could be beneficial to find a number of different methods of achieving this mental agility. Also, physical activity should be used alongside mental activity. Physical activity in your 60s can also help keep your brain sharp into your 90s according to the International Journal for Geriatric Medicine.

How Can You Train Your Brain Online?

Gone are the days of endless sudokus and cryptic crosswords for the older generation as the internet has opened up the possibilities for older people to train their brains online. From free-to-play Solitaire on the desktop PC to games designed specifically to help strengthen your brain, there are almost endless opportunities to find something suitable that is enjoyable, informative, and beneficial to brain health.

There are countless free courses online – from Udemy, Future Learn, and the Open University – on a number of topics that can help you stay sharp in older age. Scientists suggest that keeping the brain active by learning something is one way to boost memory and keep cognitive faculties running smoothly. Learning a language, such as with Duolingo, is an especially effective way of enhancing cognitive abilities and keeping the brain – as it brings together analytical skills, uses the linguistic centre of the brain, and prompts memory.

The Lumosity Brain Training app is favoured by those who like to track their progress and have a variety of different puzzles and conundrums presented to them. Games on the app range from those which test memory to those which test your selective attention, allow you to solve problems, and test your speed. They are easy to grasp and don’t need to be played for long in order to give you the feeling that something is working. Indeed, Lumosity actually claim that their games are better for mental functioning than doing crosswords.

The Elevate app is tailored towards those who are more business-minded, aiming to help professionals improve their mathematical and oratory abilities to get ahead. But the games on the app can be useful as they flex the brain with mini-games that focus on brevity of writing and understanding concepts, processing information, and focusing with listening tasks. Peak is similar, but offers a more cartoony approach, such as their Turtle Traffic game that involves escorting a turtle through the ocean.

But you don’t need to find new, specifically tailored mini-games on apps as many of the games that people would be familiar with playing – such as card-based games or bingo – can actually have similar positive effects on the brain.

How Can Bingo Boost the Brain?

Modern technology has taken the essence of bingo and delivered it as an online game. Often, playing online bingo can be more accessible for those who live in rural areas or more practical than finding a bingo game in person. While youth alternatives such as Bongo’s Bingo have cropped up, online bingo helps older people more readily engage with the games that they enjoy.

Studies indicate that the more difficult the task, the better it works to train your brain. So you should look to find a range of the best bingo games that offer different variants and difficulty levels. These include 75-ball bingo games and 90-ball bingo games, with some rewarding for a line or four corners, and others for the full house. Finding variants of the game helps keep your brain stimulated and allows it to benefit from the cognitive advantages of playing bingo.

Indeed, bingo’s cognitive abilities come from studies that analyse how players make decisions – suggesting that 60% of players use the logical brain centre while playing. The game also calls for dexterity and speed, as well as needing players to process information quickly. The combination of modern technology and the classic game of bingo shows just how useful tech can be to improve our lives and provide new ways of doing things to enhance our lives.

Modern technology has already benefitted the people of Ireland through its facilitation of communication and the way it helps streamlines our lives, but it can go one step further and help the elderly stay mentally fit. Researchers suggest that older people begin to remove stress factors from their lives in middle-age – they retire from their job, they have no dependents – and this contributes to a slowing down of cognitive faculties.

Instead, elderly people should look to finding ways to keep their brains agile using modern technology – whether this is by downloading brain training apps, taking a free course, playing games like bingo, or finding online puzzles and problems to solve.