A recent article on the CBC website with the headline, Seniors Stay Home Longer in U.S. with Simple Fixes is apparently meant to point out to Canadians that our neighbors to the south are once again ahead of the game. Although Canadians pride themselves on the availability of health care, they always suffer, I believe, from technology-envy. As the article explains, simple monitoring devices developed by researchers at the University of Missouri can alert either a nurse or a loved one that the activities of their relative have changed. A restless night sleep can be detected by monitors on the bed; a change of gait by a Microsoft Kinect 3-D camera. The advantage of these devices is that unlike alert buttons, the devices do not need to be worn; they are like a spy gadgets that you use on your mother instead of Dr. Evil. What this means is that this change in external behavior might signal physical and medical issues that can be addressed before disaster strikes.
Obviously this technology is at this point out of reach of many seniors. The article does not mention that 15% of US seniors live below the poverty line and that the main source of income for a majority of retired Americans is social security which pays $1230 a month.
My point is that this article is praising technology but erasing the social dimensions of aging. Although technology is an important facet of everyone’s life and it has enhanced the quality of life of those who can afford it, articles such as this one fail to portray aging as a complex issue. The article starts off by stating that the technology could save children having to check up on Mom and Dad. Right there, this assumes that all aging individuals have children who are willing to check up them and that this checking is burdensome. If you do not need to check on your parent then why bother going to see them, right? Seniors are often isolated; can this technology make it worse?
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Another concern is the increasing medicalization of aging. Your heart, the manner in which you sleep can all be monitored somewhere. Foucault would have field day with this one. We cannot forget that women as twice as likely to live alone than men (for women and men aged 65 and older this statistic is from Canada but it applies to the US). And women live longer. So women stand a good chance of being the object of this monitoring. All good intentions aside, the bodies of women continue to be under the gaze of the medical establishment.
Finally, the article does state, to the author’s credit, that the high-tech approach is less about watching than about being concerned. Still, if concern is medially based only, should we not worry about the fabric of society? Are we merely tied by medical concern? And does this technology enhance the quality of life of those monitored? What the high-tech trend is showing us is that technology is indeed a tool but a tool we have a tendency to think can replace human contact. Sure everyone is busy and worried. Knowing your mother’s bed is wired might be a relief. Knowing that the gait of your mother has changed might prompt you to go visit and convince her to go to the doctor. Is the technology going to mediate your encounter your parent? What will that look like? And then, if there are no changes does it imply that you can go back to your busy life with a tranquil mind and forgo those burdensome visits? Social ties are important and technology should enhance such relationships. It can only do so if there is an acknowledgement of the importance of the time to be spent with one’s loved ones. This should be built into our system and it should not be a cost that a caregiver must assume. With or without technology, the cost of caring is a social one.
