Digital Media Assignment: App Development For Aged People Of UK
Question
Task: Research and define a consumer need and as a response, develop a proposal on digital media assignment for a project of digital app that will be a boon to the aged people staying in UK.
Answer
Introduction
The purpose of this project on digital media assignment is to think out of the box and develop a new digital app that will be a boon to the aged people staying in the UK. Digital media has led to numerous inventions and it has also led people to become more and more engrossed in corporate affairs. Hectic time schedule, on and off work pressure and headaches of filling up loans and personal requirements are common nowadays. Amidst these issues, people especially teenagers and middle-aged individuals have forgotten to take care of their parents. Due to job purposes or due to academics requirements, people are tended to go abroad leaving their parents back at home. It is true that to let their children fulfill their dreams, parents make a sacrifice and it gives them joy. However, turning the page, there is another harsh reality that has created boredom and depression among the old aged people. With just a video calls to their children, they seem to be more irresistible in attitude and suffering from anxiety due to loneliness. Especially, when the aged people reach a certain age, they prefer to stay connected with more people to free themselves from loneliness. Due to depression, many suffer from the illness of hypertension. It would not be wrong to say that at a certain age say after 55 years, people tend to act like a child and crave their family members and friends (Victor and Yang, 2012). Often it is found in this digital media assignment that aged people suffer from poor mental health conditions due to discrimination, devoid of participation in activities and staying far away from their children. Old age homes do have come up in partnership with many non-governmental organizations but this has been a curse to many (Courtin and Knapp, 2017). It is not the ultimate solution for the aged people as they desire to live their life happily with their own near and dear ones. Psychologically, aged people tend to become bed-sicken persons after a certain age and negative feelings crop up their head like suicide or are affected by Alzheimer’s.
Identification of the Consumer (Aged People) Need
According to the National Health Service in the UK, it is noted herein digital media assignment that loneliness is the key factor that has led aged people to suffer from poor mental health conditions and remain bed sickens most of the time. It is the age where the aged people like to stay with their near and dear ones and die happily. However, they face the most problem in visiting the hospital for regular check-ups or ordering medicines by visiting the pharmacist as they are dependent on others due to their poor physical strength (Victor, 2018). The need for aged customers is to be provided with a facility where they can share their problems just by sitting at home or talk to someone whenever they feel like. This will help them in fighting with issues like loneliness, depression, and others. According to Age UK, it is estimated that above 2 million people aging 75 live alone in England (nhs.uk, 2019). Isolation can happen due to a number of reasons like getting weak or devoid of being the hub of the family members and others (Kharicha et al., 2017). The issue outlined in the context of digital media assignment is not why they suffer from loneliness but the issue is how to overcome this traumatic issue among the aged people. Digital media has embedded technology and made lives smoother for many. Therefore, they have an expectation if their requirements can also be fulfilled with digital media.
The proposal
To improve the mental health conditions of the aged people and give them the opportunity to live their lives according to their wishes, something has to be done through the help of digital media. An app can be developed that will cater to the needs of the aged people at any point in time, hoping to reduce the death rates among the aged people due to isolation and loneliness. The app will be named “Serving the Grands” which in itself will add an attitude to the people using the app system. The app will be available to be installed in android mobile devices so that the audience as the aged people will find it easier to access (Kilby et al., 2018). It is stated in this digital media assignment that the app can be developed in a way that will engage the entire community under one platform. The app will be structured with simple design so that the audiences can make use of the application without being dependent on others. They can even use the application just by following simple steps mentioned with a pop up appearing with the installation of the app. This application will be a charitable initiative and will not cost any charge to the audiences. “Serving the Grand” will allow the audiences to install the app from the play store and then provide some basic information like Name, Date of Birth, Age, Physical problem, illness, Gender and information about their children. This information will only be taken to assists the aged people in future needs.
For the app installation, it is mentioned in the digital media assignment that the audiences need to have an internet connection that is almost present in every household. It will also be available to old couples staying away from their children. Once the app is installed, the audiences will be asked to provide their address and contact information for emergency purposes. Once the app is installed they can connect to other participants as well who are members of the app. This application will be more than a chat service since there is no age limitation in this app. Teenagers who have a will to connect to older generations or have the intention of helping the old ones can get in touch with them through the application. Once, the app is installed, they will be welcomed in the application through a ‘Welcome’ pop up giving respect to their age and the service they have provided to the society through their experience. This app will not only lead the members to connect with each other and share small moments of joys or sorrows but also will celebrate their special occasions by sending cards, flowers, and cakes to their mentioned address. digital media assignment signifies that getting wishes from many will create a positive vibe among the aged people and help to reduce the stress from their lives. Even, the teenagers interacting with them can create an instinct of how special they are to the world.
The app will have different parameters like ‘Games’, ‘Video Chats’, ‘Listening to Songs’, ‘Live Tour’ and ‘Medical Assistance’. Live Tour and Medical Assistance will be newly implemented in the application to add a spark to the project. Through the ‘Live Tour’, members of the app can view different corners of the world with a 3D impact just by sitting at homes. ‘Medical Assistance’ will help to allow the members to order medicines or medical help that they require just by selecting a few options. Once they order the service, the agents running the app will be responsible for catering to the needs. The application will be developed in partnership with the National Health Service and the caregivers as experts will be appointed to serve as the agents. The caregivers if necessary will attend the patients on the given address so as to add to their comfort. The purpose of the application noted in the digital media assignment is to serve multiple needs of the aged people in one platform. For example, they can purchase the medicines right sitting back at home by getting their medicines delivered to their homes, chatting with people or video chatting at any point in time, refreshing themselves by playing games and even taking consultancy from Psychotherapists in regards to any issues.
The application will, first of all, take permission from NHS for constructing the project. With the authorization of NHS, it is stated herein digital media assignment that the application can serve the needs of many people and reduce the number of suicide attempts due to depression.
Comparative projects
With the advent of digital media, there are some comparative initiatives that are discovered in the UK like the Technology-Enabled Care (TEC) project (deloitte.com, 2015). This helps patients and carers to access the data and improve the quality of life on own. TEC can be used with the help of mobile devices, thus increasing the capacity of mobile technology. Another such project is the 'Smart Homes' is created to enable the aged people and the disabled people to learn digital skills and identify the issue of loneliness in rural areas (Department for Digital et al., 2020). Both the projects handle the issues through mobile applications. The applications help the older people to get access to digital skills and gather experience through learning. However, “Serving the Grands” will be a bit different from the other two applications. This application examined in the context of digital media assignment is not an invention of making full utilization of digital media but to enhance the quality of life of the aged people. This application will be more than the other two as this will be launched to develop happiness in the lives of the aged people. “Serving the Grands” will have two additional facilities like community engagement through video calls and chats and giving the experience of live tour facilities.
Audiences of the proposal
The audiences of the digital project discussed in this digital media assignment will be the aged people aging between 60 years to 85 years, Such a year frame will be taken into account since most of the cases of isolation occur after an individual reaches the age limit of 70 years. Therefore, in order to take care of the aged people, primary care has to be taken on a priority. Before the aging impacts start, the app will try to form a friendly relation with the different group members so that they do not reach the verge of isolation or loneliness. The aged people mainly are a victim of the commercialized world where everyone is tech-savvy and is busy in earning money. Money has no doubt met the needs of millions of people but has made them detached from their families and parents. Parents are the worse sufferers as students going abroad to study hardly get any time to interact with their parents (Yang, 2018). Aged people due to being from different generations are not much tech-savvy and therefore can spend their time hovering Facebook or any other social media channels. At that time, the particular desires for friends and families to connect with each other and die happily. It is a psychology that develops among them that they are no more wanted in the community due to their physical weakness. Mentally they become weak and anxiety leads them to death risks nearly after the age of 70 years as reviewed by NHS. The application will be accessed by all the age-old community members staying in the UK. Through digital platforms, distances will be eliminated and it will no longer be a problem.
Conclusion
With so many technological advancements, the normal lifestyles of people have changed. This has led individuals to develop more hunger for earning money. However, behind the scene of digital media assignment, this has acted as the cruel monster that has deprived them of their families. The most affected one in this rush is the aged people. After reaching a certain age limit, they become vulnerable to societal situations and feel deprived. Therefore, the app “Serving the Grands” will help in filling this gap in their lives that create depression and anxiety. The app can be a medium to connect with many lives and bring a change in their lives. The app will offer multiple facilities through which the members can meet their social and health needs at the same time. Learning through digital media or catering to health needs is developed previously, but this application will be different in perspective. The application will allow the members to share their little moments of joy and also be a part of the community by participating in games with other members. This will eliminate the feeling that they are no longer a part of the hub. Rather, with the application, they will form a family of their own. The digital media project examined in the digital media assignment will be developed in partnership and authority from the National Health Service. The application will be created with a hope to give a spark to the end life of the people and let them live their lives freely without depression.
References List
Courtin, E. and Knapp, M., 2017. Social isolation, loneliness and health in old age: a scoping review. Health & social care in the community, 25(3), pp.799-812.
deloitte.com (2015). Connected Health How digital technology is transforming health and social care. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/life-sciences-health-care/deloitte-uk-connected-health.pdf digital media assignment (Accessed: 1 April 2020).
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Office for Civil Society, and James, M. (2020). ‘Smart homes’ to help older and disabled people get digital skills and tackle loneliness in rural areas. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smart-homes-to-help-older-and-disabled-people-get-digital-skills-and-tackle-loneliness-in-rural-areas (Accessed: 1 April 2020).
Kharicha, K., Iliffe, S., Manthorpe, J., Chew?Graham, C.A., Cattan, M., Goodman, C., Kirby?Barr, M., Whitehouse, J.H. and Walters, K., 2017. What do older people experiencing loneliness think about primary care or community based interventions to reduce loneliness? A qualitative study in E ngland. Health & social care in the community, 25(6), pp.1733-1742.
Kilby, S., Macciola, A., Amtrup, J.W. and Orcutt, B., Kofax Inc, 2018. Smart mobile application development platform. U.S. Patent 10,146,803.
nhs.uk (2019). Loneliness in the elderly: how to help. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/loneliness-in-the-elderly-how-to-help/ (Accessed: 1 April 2020).
Victor, C., 2018. LONELINESS IN LATER LIFE: A SOCIAL PROBLEM OF OLD AGE, A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE OR MORAL PANIC?. Innovation in Aging, 2(suppl_1), pp.838-839.
Victor, C.R. and Yang, K., 2012. The prevalence of loneliness among adults: a case study of the United Kingdom. Digital media assignment The Journal of psychology, 146(1-2), pp.85-104.
Yang, K., 2018. Causal conditions for loneliness: a set-theoretic analysis on an adult sample in the UK. Quality & quantity, 52(2), pp.685-701.
