Aging, Access, and Technology
Erin Ritter
Many elderly struggle to navigate a changing world that looks drastically different from the world in which they were brought up in. A lack of technological literacy can be a major obstacle in the elderly’s ability to retain and maintain connections. As a result of the Covid-19 quarantine, the usual ways that the majority of the elderly population communicated were eliminated. Thus making it vital that access to technological literacy resources and education be made available to the elderly to reduce isolation, promote socialization, and enhance their quality of life. A question we must ponder is, “How can we include the elderly in the technological revolution, incentivise them to learn technological skills, and provide resources to learn a set of skills that are not second nature?”
Thesis Book (Spring 2023)
The Thesis Book aims to target how to lovingly teach usage of smart devices. A flip through, “phone”, that acts as a manual to the most basic functions of the iPhone that would be useful in an elder's day to day, and could ideally be a reference for times of uncertainty.
Trifecta (Fall 2022)
Through primary research found while volunteering technological support at the Diana Jones Senior Center, an inquiry of what elderly people found valuable and how tech could be useful to them was acquired. Trifecta consists of 60 hanging triangular prisms that each show a specific app in question, obstacle, and desired function to be achieved by the individuals that remain nameless for privacy.
Trifecta (Fall 2022)
Trifecta hung in the Diana Jones RISEBORO Senior Center Community.
Connect (Fall 2022)
Through instilling value in a wide range of options, this collage piece takes a wide range of visuals to represent the quest for access.
Passwords (Fall 2022)
This cultural probe executed at the Diana Jones Senior Center, served as a retention game of passwords to help better understand the disconnect in memorizing. The outcome proving that there is a wide range of capability and ability within the senior citizen population and the demographic needs to be treated as such, not grouped together as incapable.
Progressive Remix (Spring 2023)
Popular media narratives often portray elderly as incompetent when it comes to tech and in turn instill this mindframe in the general population as well as the elderly population that they are not equipped to succeed. This remix of the popular Progressive Commercials featuring Dr.Rick as well as an elderly cartoon character from the television show SpongeBob SquarePants works to emphasize the media overlap.
Butch Bird (Winter 2021)
Butch was born to a large farming family in upstate New York. Following his service in the air force flying C1-30 cargo planes, he was an electrical engineer for Eastman Kodak for 25 years. Butch had three children, Pamela, Carolyn, and Jeffery. Due to a stroke, Butch developed Dementia and began living with Carolyn and her family in Maine, and Pamela and her family in California. He was not only a housemate, but a companion from that point onwards. When his Dementia had grown more severe, he moved into the Maine Veterans Home. Only a few months after his move, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and he was isolated within the walls of the residential home. In a matter of months, the usage of smart devices became imperative in order to be included in society and create meaningful connections.