Television and Caregiving
Many people mistakenly believe that television has no place in caring for our elderly, that it constitutes "electronic caregiving."
While we personally may not chose television as our main activity, and may not believe that television has anything stimulating to offer, statics tell a different story for our elders. According to Nielsen, Seniors (65+) are watching over 200 hours of television per person, per month! They are the Number 1 television viewing audience.
Number 2 and 3 also skew older: Number 2 is 50 to 64 (180 hours), and number three is 35 to 49 (148 hours).
To contrast, 18 to 24 year olds only watch about 108 hours, and 24 - 34 watch about 128 hours. Overall, television has close to 100% market penetration. As a daily part of our elder's lives, it is close to impossible to ignore the television.
Television content and advertising is geared towards the under 35 group because there are more younger people, and because they spend close to twice as much on consumer items, per person, than older people. As a result, television networks produce content for that group because advertisers target that group for their marketing spend.
The fact that we watch more television as we age makes sense, if we look at it dispassionately. Throughout our lives, we form emotional relationships with people, places and things. We have the ability to go out into the world: enjoy restaurants, travel, go to church, sporting events, national parks and concerts.
Once we reach mid-life our priorities shift: we start having families and work more hours. Our available time to travel is reduced. We also begin to lose the ability to enjoy these things due to age related limitations. Many - and this is our future - develop physical limitations that impair our mobility. Others suffer from macular degeneration, and go blind. Still others will develop Parkinson's, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. And others many develop loss of cognitive abilities, rendering even the simplest of tasks challenging.
Television, for many, becomes the medium through which we can maintain emotional connections to the outside world. It provides companionship, news, current events, talk shows, documentaries, sports, as well as entertainment.
There are more content choices now than ever before, they are just harder to find. Many providers offer close to 1000 channels. Many of these are foreign language channels. Others specialize in science shows, like The Science Channel, Discover, National Geographic, Planet Green and History.
From a caregiving perspective, the television is problematic because it usually requires three devices: a television; a cable or satellite box; and a remote control. None of these are designed for the caregivers, let alone elderly users! Prince Philip recently cited the television and remote control as an example of bad design for elders in a BBC interview.
For our loved one, this means that they rely on someone else to work the devices. If they reprogram the TV, they may be subject to someone else's decision regarding content, or they may be ignored.
My father is a case in point: in his late 60's, he developed Alzheimer's. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and Law School. But he did not know how to turn on a television, let alone navigate the cable box and the 65 button remote control that featured small buttons and abbreviations. Every time he picked it up, he reprogrammed the television, requiring assistance. Since he was in an assisted living facility, it meant he got ignored a good portion of the time because these facilities have other priorities, not to mention hundreds of residents.
In my father's case, he wanted to watch the Golf Channel. My dad played golf all his life, for probably 60 - 65 years of his 74 year lifetime. Even though he was losing his ability to speak and think, the emotional connection to the sight and sounds of the game brought him joy. When he could not find the Golf Channel independently, he grew frustrated, and sometimes took out that frustration on himself, caregivers and other residents.
One solution for this problem is Flipper Remote. Flipper is the only remote control designed specifically for elders in a three device television world. It features a proprietary favorite channel feature that allows the user or their caregiver to program in their favorite channels. Flipper then works only on those channels, providing customized content tailored to the individual, enhancing the quality of content for the elder. It eliminates channel overload and the challenges of navigating the menu screens. It also features attractive design, full function labels, larger tactile friendly buttons, and the set up locks to prevent reprogramming the remote and television.
For our elder the benefit is clear: access to their favorite channels and increased independence.
For the caregiver, the benefit can be substantial: customers report they save time because they do not field numerous phone calls. Others say they no longer drive to the elder's residence 3 or 4 times a week to fix the television. Each trip can take 30-45 minutes one way! It reduces stress and improves communication with their elder because less time is spent fixing the same problem.
It is very easy for us to forget about the television because, for us, it is relatively easy, and we do not rely as much on the television in our daily lives. Not so for our elder at 3 a.m.! Keeping our elders active and engaged is paramount. But so is respecting their wishes, understanding the reality of their lives, and finding solutions to the pragmatic challenge of providing care to an individual 24 hours a day in our extended family world.
While we personally may not chose television as our main activity, and may not believe that television has anything stimulating to offer, statics tell a different story for our elders. According to Nielsen, Seniors (65+) are watching over 200 hours of television per person, per month! They are the Number 1 television viewing audience.
Number 2 and 3 also skew older: Number 2 is 50 to 64 (180 hours), and number three is 35 to 49 (148 hours).
To contrast, 18 to 24 year olds only watch about 108 hours, and 24 - 34 watch about 128 hours. Overall, television has close to 100% market penetration. As a daily part of our elder's lives, it is close to impossible to ignore the television.
Television content and advertising is geared towards the under 35 group because there are more younger people, and because they spend close to twice as much on consumer items, per person, than older people. As a result, television networks produce content for that group because advertisers target that group for their marketing spend.
The fact that we watch more television as we age makes sense, if we look at it dispassionately. Throughout our lives, we form emotional relationships with people, places and things. We have the ability to go out into the world: enjoy restaurants, travel, go to church, sporting events, national parks and concerts.
Once we reach mid-life our priorities shift: we start having families and work more hours. Our available time to travel is reduced. We also begin to lose the ability to enjoy these things due to age related limitations. Many - and this is our future - develop physical limitations that impair our mobility. Others suffer from macular degeneration, and go blind. Still others will develop Parkinson's, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. And others many develop loss of cognitive abilities, rendering even the simplest of tasks challenging.
Television, for many, becomes the medium through which we can maintain emotional connections to the outside world. It provides companionship, news, current events, talk shows, documentaries, sports, as well as entertainment.
There are more content choices now than ever before, they are just harder to find. Many providers offer close to 1000 channels. Many of these are foreign language channels. Others specialize in science shows, like The Science Channel, Discover, National Geographic, Planet Green and History.
From a caregiving perspective, the television is problematic because it usually requires three devices: a television; a cable or satellite box; and a remote control. None of these are designed for the caregivers, let alone elderly users! Prince Philip recently cited the television and remote control as an example of bad design for elders in a BBC interview.
For our loved one, this means that they rely on someone else to work the devices. If they reprogram the TV, they may be subject to someone else's decision regarding content, or they may be ignored.
My father is a case in point: in his late 60's, he developed Alzheimer's. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and Law School. But he did not know how to turn on a television, let alone navigate the cable box and the 65 button remote control that featured small buttons and abbreviations. Every time he picked it up, he reprogrammed the television, requiring assistance. Since he was in an assisted living facility, it meant he got ignored a good portion of the time because these facilities have other priorities, not to mention hundreds of residents.
In my father's case, he wanted to watch the Golf Channel. My dad played golf all his life, for probably 60 - 65 years of his 74 year lifetime. Even though he was losing his ability to speak and think, the emotional connection to the sight and sounds of the game brought him joy. When he could not find the Golf Channel independently, he grew frustrated, and sometimes took out that frustration on himself, caregivers and other residents.
One solution for this problem is Flipper Remote. Flipper is the only remote control designed specifically for elders in a three device television world. It features a proprietary favorite channel feature that allows the user or their caregiver to program in their favorite channels. Flipper then works only on those channels, providing customized content tailored to the individual, enhancing the quality of content for the elder. It eliminates channel overload and the challenges of navigating the menu screens. It also features attractive design, full function labels, larger tactile friendly buttons, and the set up locks to prevent reprogramming the remote and television.
For our elder the benefit is clear: access to their favorite channels and increased independence.
For the caregiver, the benefit can be substantial: customers report they save time because they do not field numerous phone calls. Others say they no longer drive to the elder's residence 3 or 4 times a week to fix the television. Each trip can take 30-45 minutes one way! It reduces stress and improves communication with their elder because less time is spent fixing the same problem.
It is very easy for us to forget about the television because, for us, it is relatively easy, and we do not rely as much on the television in our daily lives. Not so for our elder at 3 a.m.! Keeping our elders active and engaged is paramount. But so is respecting their wishes, understanding the reality of their lives, and finding solutions to the pragmatic challenge of providing care to an individual 24 hours a day in our extended family world.