I can't find the video I took this screenshot of, but this is a nice chart what the average Baby Boomer goes through at certain ages, according to the Today Show.

Senior Citizens Learning How To Use Webcam

Cute video of senior citizens figuring out how to use a webcam.

Technology allows baby boomers to connect with children, grandchildren

Looking at how technology is connecting boomers with their children and grandchild. This might help  people who are looking at doing digital communication for boomers.

Can you spot the personal communication assistant?

As Baby-boomers begin to start aging, their ideal products are not going be to hearing aids and canes. They will be looking for products that are not medical looking and look good.  

Baby Boomers Drive Social Networking’s Popularity

It is interesting to see to total amount of boomers who actually use social networking. This can shape the way we look at Boomer social communication. 

How Baby Boomers will shape technology

“Baby boomers are savvy consumers who expect technology to be safe, easy to use and flexible enough to adapt to their individual needs,” Things we should consider when designing for this cohort.

The Measured Life

http://www.technologyreview.com/ontopic/themeasuredlife/

Upon finding the previous link, I found a whole section devoted to technologies that track your health.

Vitals.

Technologies for Healthier Living

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/38691/?p1=MstRcnt

For those doing concepts involving health, here are a few body-sensing technologies and app-based products that are out there right now.

Back-Up Barz: Ergonomic innovation to Bicycle Fitting

Interesting add-on to bicycles to lower the strain you might feel when riding. The people interviewed seem to be of boomer-age, which would seem like the demographic this product would help the most.

Baby Boomer Travel Statistics.

These are some facts I gathered from the U.S. Travel association website.


Older boomers (those born from 1946 through 1954) make up 15 percent of leisure travelers and take an average of 4.4 leisure trips each year. Older Boomers also represent 16 percent of all business travelers and these travelers take an average of 10.1 business trips each year.


Young boomers (those born from 1955 through 1964) represent 21 percent of all U.S. leisure travelers and 22 percent of business travelers.  Young Boomers also take an average of 4.1 leisure trips and 5.6 business trips per year.


http://www.ustravel.org/news/press-kit/travel-facts-and-statistics

Facts and Statististics About the Baby Boomer Generation

http://www.babyboomer-magazine.com/news/165/ARTICLE/1437/2010-04-04.html

A recent article with some facts and statistics about the Baby Boomer Generation like, "A Baby Boomer turns 50 every 7 seconds."

baby boomers & their pets

Pets Bring Love, Health to Baby Boomers

I found this article interesting because it highlighted the emotional connection between a 58 year old woman and her pets (four dogs, a cat, and a bird), and although she loves them dearly, caring for pets does get expensive (vet bills, etc.)

Baby Boomers and Spoiled Pets

This short article's main point is : baby boomers are a major part of what fuels the pet industry, but what I found most interesting was a comment that was made below. The person spoke of having to care for their grandchildren's dog because they are away at school and their parents are at work, so who better to care for the dog than them...? It's interesting to see that people would rather have their dog be at some sort of doggie daycare/relative's home when they are away for the day.

Baby Boomer Homes

Gives you an idea of what Boomers are surrounding them selves with in their homes.

Boomer Expo

Check out the list of companies that are showing. It is kinda telling where the Boomer market is.

Survey shows rise in baby boomers’ illicit drug use

If we can find out what boomers are getting medications for, maybe we can create solutions that can either limit or eliminate their dependency on prescriptions drugs.

Baby Boomer Sports Injuries

Things to consider when designing for active boomers.

Tinnitus: A cure?

We talked about this last week. Tinnitus is a debilitating problem that really affects older people. What causes it? Read this article to find out more.

What’s in a Face at 50?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/sunday-review/whats-in-a-face-at-50.html?pagewanted=all

I guess what I got out of this is that sun is one of the biggest reasons for aging. Hmm, skin protection concepts?

Boomers Will Be Spending Billions To Counter Aging

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=139816667

The boomers, who grew up in a culture glamorizing youth, face an array of choices as to whether and how to be a part of that market.

Anti-aging enthusiasts contend that life spans can be prolonged through interventions such as hormone replacement therapy and dietary supplements. Critics, including much of the medical establishment, say many anti-aging interventions are ineffective or harmful.

Nutrition and Aging

Facts about how you should eat when you age.

Effects of Aging

What happens when you age.

Why Older People Have A Harder Time Multitasking

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/older-brains-multitasking-_n_848074.html

Fitness After 50: The Gym Goes Gray

Check out this article about Baby Boomers flocking to the gym!

A drink a day linked to healthy aging

Interesting way to look at drinking, for healthy aging. Baby boomers love being social, and drinking is usually done socially, not for health, but there could be some opportunities with this.

click here

Universal Appeal

Found this article on dwell...shows how a universal design approach can be implemented to redesign the home, for the better.

Universal Design...design for boomers

Universal Design is just that, universal. This human centered approach is getting more and more attention from baby boomers are it is geared towards designing for as many people as possible regardless of age, ability, or situation.

Motion-sensing lights a perfect solution for boomers who want safety, style

This blog entry is sort of dated, but its interesting to see how the mind of a boomer works,when confronted with the dilemma of wanting to buy something that is functional but makes them feel older.

OXO Egg Beater

Taking a look at some products that are indirectly geared towards the boomers. That idea of subtle marketing and design.

How Boomers Will Impact the Health Care Industry

Some interesting thing to think about. How is the Baby boomer generation going to impact the economy and what types of products are going to emerge when they start hitting 65 plus.

Baby boomer trends in products and services expected to reflect preference for style

Some interesting things to think about regarding how we approach design for baby boomers.

The Access

Here's J. Ryan Eder's student project exercise machine that Patricia Moore raved about in our Skype meeting last Wed.

http://www.idsa.org/content/content1/access

Baby boomers spur new products

This is an article published a month before 2006, the beginning era of the boomer. The market leaders were foreseeing the passages of boomers pretty accurate...
-Han S. Hong

Electric Bike for Boomers

An electric bike for boomers designed by Panasonic with the goal of allowing older people to maintain their mobility and get themselves to market. -David Bogdal

Boomer History

A nice bit of written history about the Boomer generation. Lite reading, references and graphics to explain some of the nuances of the cohort.

Apple's Secret Is In Our DNA

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/08/30/140039539/apples-secret-is-in-our-dna

Beauty is more objective than you might think. It's based on numbers and proportions. As humans, we're biologically programmed to seek out and respond to these numbers and proportions because they indicate superiority, in everything from the human form, to great works of art, to musical patterns, to plants, to architecture and to product design. The screen of a Macbook, for example, is a Golden Rectangle, which is based on this magical number: 1.6178, also known as the Golden Ratio, the Golden Mean or the Divine Proportion.

Although I think there's more to the appeal of Apple products than the visceral processing this article is pointing out.

Boomers will be spending millions to counter aging

This is an interesting read, it sort of gives an insight to the lengths that some boomers are willing to go to look as young as they mentally feel. Personally it raises the question of how can someone feel young and lead a well rounded lifestyle without having to physically look young?

How is an aging baby boomer generation changing the design of homes?

This is a great article that give a little bit on insight into the mind of baby boomers and how their re-inventive, independent nature affect the design of housing. It also explains the concept of universal design and compares it to the idea of accessibility.

Can Design Get People To Take Their Meds?

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664775/medication-compliance

We know design is a key factor in technology adoption, behavior modification, and patient compliance. If we can start by creating a better, more cohesive patient experience that will stop reminding the millions of patients of how sick they are, we can start empowering them to live healthier, happier lives.

Hang in there, Mom. Technology is on the way.