Get ready for the inaugural Digital Seniors Tech Expo on Auckland’s North Shore. It promises to deliver a wealth of new connection opportunities between seniors and businesses.
Seniors will soon make up a quarter of New Zealand’s population and become one of the biggest benefactors of technology; yet currently many seniors aren’t engaging with technology for a number of reasons.
The Digital Seniors Tech Expo, to be held at Eventfinda Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore on Sunday November 10th is designed to change all that. It’s an event designed specifically to help seniors get totally up to speed on all that today’s technology can do for them.
More than 50 businesses are coming together to showcase their latest innovations, and to provide a safe environment for people of all skill levels to learn about these technologies and to have a go.
The Expo is also the direct result of research for a technological futures Masters degree carried out by Digital Seniors CEO and founder Cathy Hardinge. Her research explored New Zealand’s digital divide for seniors in order to determine the barriers, needs and the opportunities.
Cathy wants New Zealand businesses to use the Expo to understand seniors needs in order to adapt their organisations to cater for senior customers. It’s a ‘win win’ where organisations improve their products and services for older adults, which increases their digital engagement, and opens up opportunities for businesses in the silver economy.
Cathy explains that this is not just the case of demonstrating some ‘cool tech’.
“The collective action of the more than 55 exhibitors attending the Expo will significantly help attendees become more aware of the technologies that can benefit their lives and provide more support.”
She wants this Expo to be the first of many that helps create positive social change.
“To move away from the ageist ‘fuddy-duddy’ thinking out there that says seniors are not up with the technological times.
“We’re deliberately trying to create some new, positive, modern stereotypes in New Zealand; of active seniors who are enjoying life and ageing well with technology.”
Cathy says the Expo caters for all types of seniors – from those with next to no knowledge of technology right up to those wanting to upskill on the very latest cutting-edge offerings. She says it will also appeal to people in their 40s or 50s and will be a brilliant opportunity for businesses to network in this niche sector.
No need to be afraid
Sarah Thorne, Digital Seniors North and East Auckland collaboration lead, explains to NZBusiness how many seniors often prefer to turn a blind eye to technology in the hope that they can get by without it.
“But Covid sped up the amount of technology in all our lives, so ignoring it is just not possible anymore,” she argues.
Many organisations are guilty of not thinking through how they set up processes that include options for seniors, adds Sarah.
“Also, seniors are very afraid of technology and are constantly being told that they can’t or won’t, understand it. That’s just not true.”
It’s simply that they don’t know what to do, she explains. “Just like a teenager probably wouldn’t know how to use an old rotary phone.”
But the important message here is that at least, when given the opportunity, young people are happy to trial new technology. “They may think people might laugh at them, but if they want to use technology to navigate their world, then they’ll happily give it a go,” says Sarah.
There is so much new technology in the world that living your life without it is akin to not being able to read, she believes. She’s talking about the likes of email addresses, searching for something on Google, online access to banking accounts, credit cards, downloading apps, even coping with electronic touchpads associated with building access.
“These are all obstacles for seniors that can literally mean they won’t go out; they won’t engage with society.
“Without understanding the technology, or having that technology adapted for them, it’s stopping them from doing the things they need to do and want to do in their everyday lives.”
The Expo will have a lot of fun stuff on display too, to show seniors that technology doesn’t have to be scary.
It will also be an opportunity for key sponsors to get feedback from seniors about their concerns around technology and what changes need to be made.
“It gives them the chance to ask questions, but never in a patronising manner,” explains Sarah.
Trust, confidence and empowerment
The Digital Seniors Tech Expo is breaking new ground and is a first for New Zealand. It will showcase technology to benefit seniors’ lives. Attendees will get to try the technology for themselves in a safe space.
This Expo is designed by seniors for seniors, and there will be senior ambassadors at the expo to provide support and advice when needed as well as loads of practical advice.
Whole families are encouraged to attend – it’s an event designed around trust, confidence and empowerment.
“There’s this widespread belief in the senior community that they must know everything, explains Sarah. “A belief that technology is massive. But where do you start?
“You don’t have to ‘unpack’ everything at once. It might simply be that you want to talk to somebody and see them face-to-face at the same time.”
The Digital Seniors Tech Expo can help people to capture their life story, to write a will, to unlock the mysteries and benefits of AI, to utilise technology for selling a business or to sell a product.
It’s also fertile ground for businesses to understand senior customer needs, stop ‘talking down’ to existing and potential senior customers and learn how to both connect and communicate better with them.
Changing mindsets; thinking outside the square
The list of exhibitors at the Expo is a long one particularly in areas of health, transport and lifelong learning. Sorted will be demonstrating its retirement planning tools and companies are showing how to keep safe online.
It’s not just about electronic devices and applications either – it’s about innovation.
There’s an amazing disabilities website crammed with innovations to help people with disabilities navigate life easier – such as devices to help them access their pills, an online platform on which to sell their products, and hands-free wheelchairs.
There will be a feast of technology solutions to make life better, such as AI that detects cognition issues and the early stages of dementia, or detects pain level in people who can’t communicate this, and apps to improve the fitness of seniors.
There are interactive robotic pets; electric bikes designed specifically for seniors; virtual-reality goggles; hearing aids to improve healthy ageing; all you need to know about e-books at your local library; the latest gaming technology for seniors; emergency management; as well as life-changing technologies to help grandparents connect with the younger generation.
Perhaps most exciting of all will be the technology coming to the Expo that isn’t yet available in New Zealand – for example, technology that rewires a brain after a stroke and assists people with MS.
A host of guest speakers will speak on a variety of subjects – ranging from the future of retirement, exoskeletons, leaving your digital legacy, new science revelations about ageing and the secrets to living a longer life.
Disrupting ageism
“This is technology that’s going to make life easier for seniors,” explains Sarah. “The Digital Seniors Tech Expo will also make their lives richer and more fun. It’s not scary stuff, it’s empowering.
“The Expo is all about disrupting ageism. It’s saying – just because you’re getting older, it doesn’t mean you should stop engaging with society.”
Life doesn’t stop at age 65, she says. It should always be a case of ‘what am I able to do next?’
There’s technology out there that’s best used the way you want to use it, she says, and often there’s no right or wrong way of using it.
The Expo will provide insights for business owners too, about the expectations that seniors have towards, not just their technology, but also the services and interactions that businesses provide.
It will also encourage an eco-system of the exhibiting businesses after the event, says Cathy Hardinge. “These businesses all care about seniors and grow new networks to adapt their businesses for the silver economy .
“The value of this event will endure long after it closes.”
Sarah Thorne believes businesses will be surprised about how willing seniors are to spend their money on useful technology, once they understand what it can do for them.
“In short, it’s an opportunity for individuals and businesses to research all the technology out there that will have a positive impact on this country’s seniors in years to come.”
The Digital Seniors Tech Expo is held at Eventfinda Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore on Sunday November 10. Entry is free, and there is still some space available for late exhibitors who want to be involved. Email [email protected]
