CHAPTER 2

The internet and my independence?

So how does the Internet help me?  Why should I have it in my home?  Well good questions.  Other than the obvious about staying connected the Internet can also help you actually stay in your home independent and safe.  Stay in my home?  What do you mean?  Will I become homebound?  Don’t worry.  What I mean is that as we all age there comes a time in our lives where we just can’t be alone anymore and we need to move into a care home or facility where people can keep an eye on us.  This happens for many reasons but wouldn’t you prefer to be able to stay at your own home or live with your children?

We all would and here is how the Internet can become your new friend and saviour of your independence.  There are many products for sale today that are some form of sensor or other technology that can be placed in your home and connected to the Internet connection that do not require a computer to be present.  PHEW!  There is that scary word computer again but if you noticed I said the computer is not need.  Just the devices that are simply placed in the home and you don’t have to interact with them or even worry that those sensors are there.

That’s great but how do they help me ?  Here is how.  As you age you may need someone to keep an eye on you and therefore that is why in the past you had to move into a facility where they can keep help keep an eye on you.  Today with the use of one of these sensors if you need immediate help you can push a small button that hangs around your neck and it will send out an alert to someone and they will come to you.  That’s pretty handy and it is one way that you will no longer need to live in a place just so someone can be close at hand.  You can look after yourself with the aid of these handy devices.  And guess what?  This magical device works because it is connected to the Internet.

And there are many other helpful devices like that one.  There are devices that remind you to take your pills when needed.  There are devices that can detect if you have fallen and need help.  There are even devices now that can see if you have managed to make it out of bed ok in the morning.  This might sound like a strange device to have but you can use your imagination as to how it can be helpful to alert someone in the event that something may have happened during the night or if you have fallen.  All of these wonderful devices eliminate the need to an actual person to nearby and this is how you can stay independent in your own home.

So this is how the Internet is a great utility to have connected to your home because no one wants to see that day come where you have to move out.  So take a small step into the future and enjoy the Internet as opposed to fearing it.  Be grateful that it can help you stay at home as opposed to being scared of it.  Learn to love it without even knowing it’s there.  Like the water tap.  Next time you walk over and turn on the tap be thankful that it’s the tap in your own home and not a tap in a care home and you can thank the internet for that.

Tune in text week for part 3 of the article…