Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
knowledge of Internet magazines;
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teaching, instruction or the sharing of skills (e.g. artistic) by some elderly
people.
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3.2. Entertainment and leisure
3.2.1.
Training the brain
Some elderly people are looking for new ways to keep active and alert. They are
responding to the advice to take care of their brain and are involved in special activities
such as doing jigsaw puzzles, playing music, learning foreign languages, juggling,
dancing and playing table tennis. Nowadays, games that have been specially designed
to stimulate and train the brain are also available. Such games are now entertaining a
new generation of computer users: elderly people who up to this time have not been
interested in computer games.
A clear and growing market - a business opportunity - of older adults has opened
up for the computer game industry. This has created a major challenge to game
companies in designing games and applications that are attractive and interesting to
older adults. Although there is not yet any direct evidence that increased mental activity
can slow down the age-related decline in the brain, millions of brain games have
already been sold in Japan, the USA and Europe. A growing number of companies are
marketing computer programs and games that they say will help older people stay
mentally sharp and perhaps delay the inevitable decline and possible dementia. These
applications are targeted at one of the fastest growing segments of the game market:
people over 40 years old who are worried about losing their mental edge.
Empirical studies of ageing and memory show that older people maintain their
ability to acquire new information and strategies. Several studies of elderly people
suggest that cognitive-restructuring techniques may help older adults improve their
memory functioning and gain control over their beliefs about memory, so enhancing
performance of their memory.
It would be worthwhile to study the possibility of developing such applications as
brain games for rehabilitation purposes, e.g. for people with dyslexia, memory
disorders or difficulties in perceptive skills. It would also be interesting to consider
using a brain game as an assessment tool e.g. for memory tests.
3.2.2.
Exercise and gaming
Maintaining good health and physical condition in old age is important, but there are
not yet inspiring ways for the elderly to keep fit. Solutions of ambient intelligence have
the potential of delivering motivating concepts for exercising and keeping fit with the
help of the seamless integration of technologies such as wireless and mobile networks,
tagging technologies, context-aware solutions, locating technologies and media-rich
wireless sensors. In order to be effective in the design of such applications, information
about needs of elderly users, different types of technological solutions and their
consequences on older people is indispensable.
Game-like applications and play-service concepts can be solutions that stimulate
people to practise physical exercise. The key research question in the concept
development is how to motivate people to take part in physical exercise, to receive and
share information related to their overall health and wellbeing and to change their
health-related behaviour patterns.
