Many times people suggest that older people and technology do not mix well. However, this is not always true, especially in the case of e-readers. There are numerous advantages of e-readers for older people, some that may seem obvious, while others are benefits that you might have never thought of yourself.
Why are e-readers ‘old people’ friendly?
There are a number of different benefits to using an e-reader for someone over the age of 60, for example:- Scalable font size – Try buying a book that offers you a scalable font size, it is not going to happen. However, the option to increase or decrease the font size according to the surrounding light level and eyesight can provide a real benefit to the elderly. As eyesight decreases, it is a great option to be able to make the font just a little larger.
- Lightness and comfort – Even though it is not ‘standard’, aches and pains are common for many older people. This can make it uncomfortable to hold a book that consists of more than 300 pages or to open and fold a newspaper. Most e-readers practically weigh nothing, making them extremely comfortable to hold.
- Remember the last read page – As short-term memory decreases with age, it may be easy to forget where someone was in a book. You can bend the last page you were reading, but it is doubtful that you would want to do this with borrowed books. Bookmarks tend to shift quite a bit, why not let technology take care of it for you.
E-readers and libraries
What if you do not want to have to buy all new books yourself? A number of libraries are buying e-books that delete themselves automatically after a few weeks (which is long enough to read them) and come with some form of copy protection. This mean that it works just as you would expect with paper library books, with the added benefit that you do not have to return them at all!Reading in bed
Many people prefer to read a little before they go to sleep. Have you ever tried getting comfortable on your back and still hold a book close enough to read? You do not have to keep changing positions to change the page either. Once you are comfortable, you can remain that way and click the “advance” or “next page” button as you continue to read.Light when you travel
You are not going to see many older people who carry around laptops or iPods when they travel. Oftentimes the preferred method of keeping busy while traveling is reading. However, you can run into problems with books causing your baggage or carry-on to be too heavy rather quickly. You can avoid this problem by bringing along one single e-reader. As you can see, while technology may seem a bit intimidating at first, an e-reader is honestly a great purchase for anyone who loves to read but is unwilling or unable to keep lugging books around.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you Jonathan for your guest post today!
{Cym}
Jonathan Rosenfeld is a nursing home attorney and regular is asked to speak to groups who support the rights of the elderly. Read more about his work by visiting his blog www.nursinghomesabuseblog.com
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