These days there are applications for everything! Elderly adults are not usually the target for high tech products, however, many apps aide the lives of older adults and provide them with helpful tools for making everyday life easier. Here’s a list of innovative apps for seniors in 2018.
- Pandora – This online music service lets you hear the music you want, when you want it. As many of us know, the right music can help a person power up, mellow out, or get inspired. On Pandora, you get to create your own “stations” based on your favorite genre, artist, or specific song.
- Pillboxie – Our caregivers love this app for many reasons: It has quick access to lists of medications, pill reminders with easy setup and even access to the pharmacy’s website to fill prescriptions. And all of this can be done right in the palm of your hand on your phone, tablet or other device.
- Crosswords Classic – Not only do seniors enjoy reading, playing games and doing puzzles to keep busy, these activities also keep their brain active. This classic crossword puzzle app is available anywhere they go; it has hundreds of puzzles and adds new ones daily.
- Skype – Skype revolutionized the world of video conferencing. Seniors with a smartphone or tablet and Skype installed can talk face-to-face with their grandchildren no matter where they are in the world, fostering the social connection that we know is crucial to well-being as we age. Skype also supports voice-over-internet telephone and instant messaging for free or very low cost.
- WebMD – No app can replace a physician, but for medical information in the digital age, there is no name as trusted as WebMD. You can ask the app questions, which it responds to with highly relevant articles written by physicians who are specialists in the topic in question. It allows you to browse high quality articles, and even get updated information about how current weather conditions may impact your health.
- Red Panic Button – This app serves as a medical alert on your phone. Instead of wearing one of those necklaces that you press to get medical attention, you press a button on your phone. When you do this, it sends out a message to a list of people that are pre-designated to let them know you need help. It will also send out your current location.
- iBooks – By downloading this app on your smartphone, you can have access to thousands of books. The app is free but you still need to download the actual book. The app just allows you to read it on your phone. If you’re not sure you want to commit to the entire book, you can choose to download just a few pages. If you like the sample pages, then you can decide to download the whole thing.