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The Future of the Internet is…Grandparents?

The Future of the Internet is…Grandparents?

According to the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of seniors are active internet users, which means almost 32 million older adults are using the internet.

There is a whole new generation of older Americans who have had long, successful careers in technology and have a strong understanding of how to get the most out of the internet in their retirement. Others – you know who you are – have been early adopters of technology for decades, signing on for the first “brick” car phones in the ’70s, playing Pong on their Atari video consoles in the early ‘80s and wiring up their smart homes in the early 2000s. And yet another group simply wants to check their email.  

Regardless of your current relationship with the technology, it’s advantages and opportunities to enhance lifestyles for all ages are growing, especially for older individuals who are finding more ways to use the internet for connection, convenience, as well as safety and wellness. 

Connection

Connecting remotely with family and friends is one of the greatest advantages the internet can provide.  Watching children and grandchildren grow and being a part of long-distance family events such as births, weddings, and graduations is truly priceless.  Many people are using Facetime, Skype, WhatsApp and Zoom frequently to see the faces of the people who are important to them.  

Reliable bandwidth with strong upload speeds is essential to these connections. Did you know that only 100% fiber connectivity gives you the same speed for upload as for download and that upload speed is about 100 times faster than any competing provider in the Estes Valley? Upload speed is how fast your data is sent from you to others, and it is necessary for them to see and hear you clearly on a video call.  It is also needed for sending and uploading photos, videos and other data through email, social media and cloud services. Only Trailblazer’s fiber connection can provide that reliability when it matters most. 

Convenience

If you’ve only used the internet in the past for video chats and a little email, then there is a world of time-saving opportunities to explore from the comfort of your home.  Imagine it’s another snowy spring day in Estes Park and you have errands to run, bills to pay and doctors’ appointments.  Here are a few alternatives that reliable high-speed internet can offer: 

  • How about placing an order for groceries online or ordering your dinner from a local restaurant through DoorDash?
  • Make that mobile deposit to your bank account and pay some bills online. 
  • Curl up with a good book. You can buy ebooks from Amazon, Apple, Google, and other digital retailers, but why spend money when you can borrow them from your local library? If your library is signed up with Libby or Hoopla, you can browse, borrow, and read books directly through the app.
  • Check out the latest weather, news updates and sports scores on your favorite apps, streaming devices, and websites or check out the webcams around town to see when it’s safe to go out.
  • Entertain the grandkids at home if the day at Rocky Mountain National Park got rained out.  You have the bandwidth for video games, movies and posting to social media to keep them happy.  
  • Maybe take a virtual tour of somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit.  April in Paris anyone, even in October? 
  • You can even schedule a telehealth appointment with your doctor instead of a live visit when you need it to stay healthy and get the treatment you need. 

Safety and Wellness

At Trailblazer Broadband, we do more than just provide the fast, dependable fiber internet you’ve come to count on for entertainment and productivity. We develop and maintain networks that keep your service as reliable as possible to facilitate wellness and life-saving technology in your home. Wellness often extends to concerns about the health and safety of remaining independent in their own homes, especially if they live alone. The concern of a medical emergency or fall is ever-present. 

Fortunately, technology has dramatically improved safety and security at home—the kind of safety and security to keep seniors living independently in their homes. 

And with today’s technology, seniors and their families can rest assured that they can enjoy their golden years and independence for far longer.

By utilizing today’s smart home technology and other safety and security features—enhanced by Trailblazer Broadband’s fiber internet—seniors can confidently enjoy their retirement in their own homes.

Below, we highlight some of the technology available to seniors today to help them live at home more independently and safely than any previous generation before.

Personal Emergency Response System

Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), such as One Call Alert or Medical Guardian, form the cornerstone for seniors to be independent and confident while living at home. 

This cutting-edge technology means that help during an emergency—from a medical scare to a fall—is always at hand, even when a phone is out of reach and a family member cannot assist quickly.

The Personal Emergency Response System is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

At the touch of a button, you or your loved one will be connected to emergency contacts to get help as fast as possible. 

In addition, the PERS features two-way voice communication right on the device, so there is no fumbling around for a phone or even a need to dial a phone number—just a simple press of the button and the connection to trained emergency assistance is immediately available.

Smart Home Technology

Today’s smart home technology makes basic, daily tasks easier and safer for seniors. For example, by utilizing smart light bulbs, seniors can turn the lights on or off by using their voice, reducing the need for awkward positioning and bending, which can sometimes lead to falls or other injuries. 

Smart light bulb voice activation also means there’s no need to search for light switches in the dark, making nighttime walks to the bathroom or kitchen far safer.

Many smart light bulbs are compatible with Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and other Smart Home devices, which connect to Trailblazer Broadband’s reliable fiber internet. 

So, your loved one can easily integrate smart light bulbs into their smart home through easy-to-use voice-controlled devices. 

Smart Security

Smart home technology can also help seniors be more secure in their homes. 

And recent innovations go well beyond traditional security systems like burglar alarms or surveillance cameras. Smart home security technology can integrate across the home’s fiber internet, providing protection almost anywhere in the house.

Exterior smart cameras allow a loved one to know if an unknown person approaches a senior’s property. 

And indoor smart cameras can let family members check in if they cannot contact their elderly parents. 

Other smart home advances like glass break detectors can alert a loved one to intruders and help deter property crime. These state-of-the-art technologies can help seniors feel safer and more secure in their homes.

Your neighbors at Trailblazer Broadband are honored to be a part of helping seniors live more fulfilling and self-assured lives at home. And because Trailblazer Broadband’s fiber internet is so reliable, you’ll be confident that your smart home and its safety and convenience features will always be there for you.

Trailblazer Broadband is municipally owned and is Estes Park’s only locally supported high-speed broadband service provided over fiber optic lines. The Town of Estes Park provides information only and does not endorse any of the listed companies, the views they express or the products/services they offer. For more information about internet service, contact Trailblazer Broadband at info@trailblazerbroadband.com or (970)577-3770.  More Trailblazer news is available at www.trailblazerbroadband.com and https://www.facebook.com/TrailblazerBroadband/.

Trailblazer Says “Feet Up” on Virtual Travel

Trailblazer Says “Feet Up” on Virtual Travel

During the pandemic, we learned to do virtually everything, well, virtually.  By far one of the best experiences you can have online is virtual travel to places all over the world that you may not have an opportunity to see in person.  Leave the reservations, money and luggage out of the equation. Put your feet up on your sofa in your comfiest clothes with some popcorn, a beverage, and maybe a friend, and transport yourself to exotic locales – without a TSA agent or a speed trap in sight! 

According to CVENT, a software solutions and event planning company, “virtual tourism presents you with an immersive experience of an activity, location, or destination through the use of technology. There are tons of different types of virtual tourism offerings, but there’s usually a combination of virtual reality, still images, video, audio, narration, interactivity, and other multimedia formats to provide an experience of a destination that a user cannot get through images or websites alone.”

With Trailblazer Broadband’s high-speed internet, virtually unlimited trips are only a few clicks away! The content is available on the internet just like streaming services for movies and shows. To find your dream designations, simply type “Virtual Travel Destinations” in your browser, you can visit cities, resorts, historical sites, natural wonders, and even museums. Many options are free and all are a fraction of what you would pay to visit in person! You can view the content on a normal computer or even a mobile device, or consider a virtual reality headset for a more immersive experience. 

Virtual vacations give you the freedom to explore in most cases because not only can you imagine yourself in the scene, but you can also control what they see of a destination, experiencing 360 degrees of a location. All aspects of a destination can be showcased in high resolution. 

When traveling virtually, you aren’t limited by available flights, travel logistics, safety concerns, and whether destinations are open. There’s no need to think about time zones or weather conditions, much less masks, germs or physical limitations.  

The other huge benefit is cost. Virtual tourism makes destinations accessible to millions of people who may otherwise not be able to afford to travel to them. Hotels and destinations love highlighting their locations and amenities virtually in the hope that some if not all virtual viewers will want to visit the locale in the “real world” someday.  Before making your final decision on where you’d like to actually go, you have the chance to check everything out in advance without safety and health concerns, worrying about whether destinations are open, weather conditions, or time zones. You can enjoy the gorgeous Hawaiian sunset at 3:00 AM in your living room! 

This technology is great for showing hotel interiors, artwork, museum exhibits, and anything that can be fully experienced without motion or sound.

Finally, fully immersive VR experiences let you get in on the action by interacting with the environment and discovering more through your actions. This is often a personalized experience focusing on one aspect of the location, like the food scene, music, history, or art. Virtual reality yoga classes, nature walks, stargazing, and bird watching have all become popular ways for a location to show off everything it has to offer.

“A true gift of virtual travel is that we can safely and efficiently access experiences we’ve always wanted to access,” Dennis Watkins, owner of The Magic Parlour in Chicago, said in an article for marthastewart.com. “People separated by oceans can look each other in the eyes and share stories, cultures, and ideas. When I do a show for a single family who logs in from London, Leeds, Norway, or Chicago, I start to see the power of the virtual space … and I think we’re just now starting to understand and leverage that power.”

Trailblazer Broadband is municipally owned and is Estes Park’s only locally supported high-speed broadband service provided over fiber optic lines. The Town of Estes Park provides information only and does not endorse any of the listed companies, the views they express or the products/services they offer. For more information about internet service, contact Trailblazer Broadband at info@trailblazerbroadband.com or (970)577-3770.  More Trailblazer news is available at www.trailblazerbroadband.com and https://www.facebook.com/TrailblazerBroadband/