Baby Boomers don't accept technology as a given, but as a gift.
And that will shape their future use of technology, according to a joint futuristic look into the future by Microsoft and AARP. The report was released yesterday.
The two teamed up to sponsor a series of focus group discussions with Baby Boomers in San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago and New York. Author and futurist Michael Rogers led the sessions as participants shared their technology-related experiences, insights and expectations -- and how their personal values shape the way they choose and use technology.
According to a news release, the result is "Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation", a report that offers fresh insights into a generation whose influence on technology is often overlooked, and creates a compelling picture of how boomers and other consumers will use technology in the near future.
Here are some of the findings:
- For Baby Boomers, technology is contagious. They embrace it with enthusiasm and are quick to share it with others;
- Boomers are the fastest-growing age segment on such social-networking sites as Facebook, and many log on at least once a day;
- Technology is a big part of their leisure time, using it for learning, music composition, shooting videos, rare-book collecting, playing DJ, planning travel, and more;
- While some younger people allow technology to shape their lives, Baby Boomers want technology to fit their lives.
The study envisions how technology might have a practical application for Baby Boomers, such as low-cost gene scans that they'll integrate into their own health data
The study also sees Baby Boomers wiring their parents' homes with smart sensors that monitor motion, power usage, average conversation levels and footstep patterns; the sensors will be smart enough to send regular updates that all is well—or suggest the Boomer check in to make sure the parents are OK.
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