According to CNBC, by the year 2032, the senior care industry is projected to be worth about $13.5 trillion per year. We’ve talked in the past about how this has opened up the door for many people trying to create scams that target the elderly, and this goes from high tech scams to far more intimate things, like false front in-home care and other senior care services. While this is certainly true and is something that you need to keep an eye on, there is a lot of good also being done thanks to this potential for growth. We’ve also mentioned some of these things on our blog, specifically advances in technology. Today, we are going to look at other benefits that we should be looking forward to when it comes to the senior care industry.
Maybe you have heard of venture capitalism, maybe not. To put it succinctly, a venture capitalist is someone who invests in start up companies and other business ideas that traditional banks might consider to be too “high risk” for them to put money into. But with the new and growing need for senior care, venture capitalist firms are popping up that specialize just in businesses that are trying to innovate how senior and in-home care is given. It has opened up a whole new world as far as potential within this field thanks to the fact that companies that truly want to help the elderly now have greater access to funds and resources than ever before.
Other companies are specializing in a more hands on approach when it comes to senior services. For example, science is revealing new information almost daily about how the brain works, and we now know that the brain is far more adaptable than was ever thought, and that this is even the case within the senior population. New techniques involve using this fact to help seniors have more fulfilling lives and experience better mental health. Some companies are focusing on stimulating brain activity in seniors–even those that are seemingly healthy and free of dementia. These new practices have been found to help improve cognitive functioning, fight off depression and anxiety, and even improve brain functioning speed and processing. These are areas where it was previously thought that only young children could grow, but new companies are bringing these features to adults, both young and seniors. This is an exciting advance and has the potential to help us rethink old age completely.
Another area where new companies are moving toward is social networking. You might think of things like Facebook and Twitter when you hear that phrase, but although these are the big names in social media, there are many benefits for seniors here outside of those. Some companies are attempting to make communication through technology no longer just the realm of hip youths, and make it so that seniors can use technology in order to stay in touch with friends and family and have better access to help if an emergency were to arise. It might seem like a small step to those of us that use computers or smartphones on a daily basis, but it’s a huge market to move into, and it’s an area where much good can be done.
Leave a Reply