To mark the Day of the Older Generation: Just how old is old?

29. March 2019 Published by Raphael Doerr

The first Wednesday of every April is devoted to the role of senior citizens in society. This day of action was inaugurated in 1968 at the initiative of the Kassel-based organization Lebensabendbewegung (LAB). The world has turned full circle since then. When are you now considered a senior citizen? When do you belong to this “older generation”?

Most people usually perceive that they have entered this phase of life when they retire from work. Some have completed that step fully, others are embarking or about to embark on it, some slide gradually into retirement, whereas it comes abruptly for others. In the 1960s, people were thought to be old at the age of 55 – or 60 at the most.

But when you look around the ski slopes, in tennis halls or on cycle paths nowadays, you see them. With top equipment, in trendy sports clothing, with a joie de vivre. Senior citizens. Often 70, 75 or older.

A new generation of senior citizens is emerging – they are full of life and regard retirement as a challenge. Travel, sport and use of the smartphone and Internet are increasingly important for them. They love their freedom and explicitly want to live independently and in their own four walls for as long as possible.

Active assisted living

Yet when their ability to care for themselves gradually wanes, that realization is all the more difficult to accept. When parents or grandparents suddenly need support, that often falls on their relatives – not least due to the increasing shortage of skilled care workers. That’s no easy situation for the entire family after their loved ones have led a long, active and self-determined life.

This is where active assisted living (AAL) comes in. Because growing old in the 21st century is no longer what it used to be like. AAL stands for concepts, products and services that above all make everyday life easier for elderly people thanks to new technologies. They also include our senior citizens assistance system Gigaset smart care. We have accompanied people through all phases of their life for decades, giving them a sense of security with high-quality, refined products. And, of course, have done so for the elderly generation as well.

What is Gigaset smart care?

Gigaset smart care watches out in the home for irregularities in the daily routine of elderly family members who live alone and reliably provides information by means of the smart care app or sounds an alarm by initiating a phone call. Various sensors on windows, on doors and in rooms detect whether someone is at home, the doors are open or closed or the windows are tilted. Rest periods, such as an afternoon nap, and the time they get up in the morning can also be recorded. All daily habits are custom-configured using the Gigaset smart care app for smartphones. It is clear and easy to operate and can also be used to select who is notified in the event of deviations from the defined routines – for example when someone leaves the house at an unusual time. That gives relatives the assurance that family members who live on their own are alright. Care services can also be integrated so as to enable even more customized assistance. smart care means senior citizens can always be certain that a trusted person is notified quickly and directly whenever necessary.

Gigaset smart care thinks for itself

As with common emergency calls from home, a call for help can be issued at the touch of a button or automatically with the new senior citizens assistance system Gigaset smart care. However, the system can do a lot more thanks to its sensors and smart networking. It detects when people behave differently than usual – whether their sleep pattern changes, they miss meals or go to the bathroom more rarely than normal. By analyzing the complex sensor data, Gigaset smart care can also remind them to air rooms, eat and drink. The system puts the focus on the people: Senior citizens are all to themselves in their familiar surroundings, but do not feel left alone. And relatives or care workers know at all times whether everything is alright or something is odd. They can then immediately take a decision on what is to be done.

Old is not old

On Day of the Older Generation, which will be held on April 3, 2019, there will be one really impressive figure: Around 17.5 million people in Germany are 65 or older – more than one-fifth of the total population. And many refuse to be reduced to the stereotype of the pensioner who takes things easy and spends most of the time at home. But one thing is certain: Gigaset is by and on their side. Whether with smartphones Made in Germany for a week in Portugal, cordless phones from the Gigaset life series with a particularly powerful loudspeaker at home – or later, and hopefully a lot later, with the senior citizens assistance system Gigaset smart care.