Now as we begin the potentially long and winding road to post pandemic normality, it’s important that we take a good look at what we’ve learned and how we might apply these lessons to make a positive change in our world.
One important trend we’ve seen during this period is the emergence of virtual event technologies that have enabled us to still "meet" with colleagues, family and friends and have access new experiences even though we were isolated in lockdown.
Online meeting platforms like Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and others have not only kept many businesses in business, these easily accessible capabilities have also allowed new, non-tech-savvy audiences to now participate in experiences that they may have never been able to attend in the past.
This is particularly true for "seniors" over 65 years of age.
For many people in this age group, the technology revolution in mobile phones, social media, online shopping and other digital technologies that the younger generations take for granted, came a bit late in the day for widespread adoption. I sure many of you have the grandparent who still struggles to use a mobile phone, or shop online or when instructed to "click" on something has absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.
It now seems that the pandemic may have been just been the stimulus this age group needed to begin to change all that. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and the Covid-19 lockdown and the isolation and social distancing it has caused, particularly for this age group, made it necessary for seniors' technology behaviors to change.
In fact, seniors are adopting technology at much higher rates than expected. According to a recent study by design and technology agency Beyond, 58% of people over 65 in the UK have increased their use of technology during the pandemic, and, no surprise, the most common reason for their uptake in technology was to communicate with relatives. Other beneficiaries of this new group of now online consumers have been retail, online learning and believe it or not, online gaming.
The bottom line is that, inspired by the pandemic, older audiences are now rapidly joining youngsters in becoming more digitally enabled. I’ve witnessed this first-hand in my own family, as my now digitally active mother-in-law is emailing, texting, grocery shopping online, virtually touring museums and galleries and instructing Alexa to please turn on Radio 4. Believe me, this all quite new.
Why Care About This Age Group?
According to the Office of National Statistics, more than half these people are aged 65 and above, and the number of seniors in this age group continues to increase faster than the rest of the population with the number of people aged over 65 expected to increase by 50% over the next 20 years.
Seniors represent a significant amount of annual spending in the UK. It turns out that over-50s are estimated to hold 80% of the UK’s wealth, with people aged 65-74 having the highest net worth, followed closely by 55–64-year-olds.
There’s Money To Be Made
So, seniors are significant players in the economy and their role will get even bigger in the future as these increasingly digitally engaged, online consumers enjoy longer and healthier lives, and like their millennial counterparts, prefer to spend more on experiences rather than things.
This potential spending power by seniors on online experiences is not going unnoticed by brands who are now targeting this audience with a wide range of online products and services from shopping, gaming, travel and learning experiences, to online publishing and streaming media subscriptions.
Xbox launched its Beyond Generations campaign (see video above) designed to show how gaming could be a way for isolated or homebound seniors to have meaningful interactions with family members online. The campaign featured a film about a house-bound grandfather and his grandson bonding long distance through online gaming.
Lenovo Silver Snipers is the world’s first seniors-only competitive esports team. The team is "out to prove that growing older doesn’t mean growing lonely," as they successfully combat isolation through gaming. The Silver Snipers were conceptualized, recruited, trained and sponsored by Lenovo, equipped with a series of top-of-the-line Lenovo Legion gaming computers and accessories.
L'Oréal Paris published The Non-Issue: a special edition of Vogue Magazine designed to address the issue of gender-based ageism, with 80 pages of fashion and editorial content made by and dedicated to women over 50. The Non-Issue attracted over 40,000 new readers.
In addition, while travel, cultural institutions and attractions mostly remain closed to the public, there are now an increasing number of virtual opportunities available to ‘Silver Surfers’.
You can visit a country like Norway, or tour an art exhibition like Virtual Vincent or even live- stream a webcam of birds feeding in Akron, Ohio all from the comfort of your home. The options are virtually endless.
It seems that by helping seniors to become digital and showing a real interest in this group of people, brands are not only empowering and helping seniors in isolation, but they are also capitalizing on future business opportunities.
It's The Right Thing To Do
And, of course, in addition to potentially making money, there’s another amazing benefit to creating online experiences for seniors. It is the right thing to do.
Isolation, social distancing and loneliness amongst seniors due to the Covid-19 pandemic is devastating. Senior living facilities have restricted visitors, making care homes and assisted living facilities even lonelier than before, and there are an estimated 420,000 people who live in care homes in the UK.
Virtual experiences can now offer the kinds of stimulation and entertainment that seniors need to stay engaged and healthy whilst isolated. Enabling locked in care home residents to be able to virtually interact with loved ones is critical and frankly, the least we should do. Being able to go on a virtual trip to a favorite city, visit a museum, cultural institutions, or take in a musical or theatrical performance whilst in isolation can be life changing.
Every care home in the UK should now offer residents access to virtual event capabilities to visit with family and friends, medical and healthcare professionals, and take the occasional virtual trip to a foreign destination or tour of a favorite museum or exhibition.
A Post-Pandemic Silver Lining
At the outset of the pandemic, many of us were forced to shift our priorities to staying at home and keeping our distance from one another to stay safe. As the pandemic dragged on, we’ve all had to adapt by becoming much more reliant on technology to do basic things like communicate with friends and family, entertain ourselves and even shop.
At the end of the day, we’ve come to realize that technology can make many aspects of our lives easier, and maybe even more interesting and adventurous. This is particularly true for those people later in life who may find themselves less able to get out and about. The growth in virtual experiences for this audience is clearly one of the pandemic’s silver linings.
Experience Designed is a strategic advisory and creative ideas agency that applies purpose-led design principals to create transformative brand experience strategies. Our expertise and approach enable creative brands to re-imagine human experiences to create real opportunities for positive change. https://www.instagram.com/experience_designed/