Lots of information about the use of smartphones in the UK is available – see here, for example. In 2012, 66% of those aged 16-24 and 5% of those aged 55+ had a smartphone. By 2023 the percentages had become 98% and ~86%, respectively. Indeed, today 80% of those aged 65+ have a smartphone, which reinforces the fact that they have become an essential component of modern life for young and old alike. The main use of smartphones across the whole age spectrum is for messaging, emails, phone calls, internet browsing, social media, weather forecasts, online shopping, finance and banking, and maps/route navigation. Adults rarely leave home without them, and if they do anxiety tends to be higher during the rest of their day!
While younger generations are more welcoming of advances in digital tech, the rapid rise in smartphone use by older age groups since 2012 shows that seniors will embrace new technology that provides them a benefit. Which brings the Badger to the smartphone’s companion, the smartwatch. Across all age groups in the UK today, ~1 in 4 of us have one. Since the game-changing Apple Watch arrived in 2015, more and more of us have been buying them. The adoption trend looks to be following a similar pattern to that of the smartphone since 2012. Unsurprisingly, smartwatch use is greatest in digital native generations (millennials and younger), but the 55+ and 65+ age groups currently account for ~ 20% of UK users. Take up in these age groups seems to be linked to interest in watch functions associated with health monitoring (e.g. heart rate, ECG, blood pressure tracking), wellness, (e.g. sleep, stress, exercise), and emergency alerting (e.g. falls monitoring). By the end of this decade, it seems likely that most of the adult population will have a smartwatch on their wrist regardless of the device’s pros and cons, The versatility, convenience, and health/wellbeing benefits they offer far outweigh the cons, especially for those in ‘senior’ age groups.
But here’s a question. If every adult wears a smartwatch to complement their smartphone within a few years, will the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) integrate the health and wellbeing data from watch functions into patient care to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and care? Hmm, the NHS seems quiet on this, but the answer is ‘probably not’ because smartwatches are not certified medical devices. The Badger senses that this might ultimately change, because when he accompanied someone experiencing an atrial fibrillation event to hospital recently, one of the doctors on arrival asked if they could look at any ECG and blood pressure traces captured on their patient’s smartwatch! That’s surely a sign that smartwatches will ultimately have a more important role in an NHS which continues to struggle to be fit for the 21st century…
