User:Yuhao Kan/Ageless computing

'Ageless computing'  refers to computing technologies used to improve the life of senior citizens and help people to build an ageless society.

Overview
Many existing computing services are not designed with serving elderly users in mind. The way information is organized, presented, and the complexity involved in correctly carrying out a set of computer based operations in order to access information created a digital divide that many elderly people of today cannot easily cross. In the modern world where almost everything can be accessed through computing systems, such a digital divide not only makes it inconvenient for the elderly to make use of information and services, but also contributes to them becoming isolated from other members of the society. As the average life expectancy increases in most countries across the globe, a greater percentage of the world's population falls above the age of 65. As a group, senior citizens command major purchasing power, and possess invaluable knowledge, experience, skills and wisdom accumulated over many years. It is important for computing design paradigms to be revised to accommodate the special needs and preferences of the elderly population for the well-being of both the seniors and the general society.

Definition
Ageless computing is defined as any service oriented computing design that can achieve at least one of the following objectives:

1) Bridges the gap between physical services for the elderly and the online environment;

2) Enables the elderly to effectively use computing technology without conscious physical and mental effort;

3) Enables the friends and relatives of the elderly to interact closely and meaningfully with the elderly;

4) Enables aging societies to mobilize the elderly population as a productive force;

Ageless computing should make the elderly feel ageless when using computing technologies, make their loved ones feel the elderly are ageless as part of daily life, and make an aging society feel ageless by unleashing the hidden potential of the elderly population.

Challenges
Researchers from University of British Columbia and Nanyang Technological University summarized the major challenges in the field of ageless computing as follows.

Emotional Challenge
The feeling of loneliness is the biggest emotional challenge. This can be caused by numerous aging related reasons including children migrating to other places for careers, relocation to unfamiliar places, the death of their family members, difficulty in joining social activities, health problems, etc.