For most of the history of consumer technology, the default user has been young. Interfaces assume sharp eyesight, fast thumbs and a tolerance for constant change. Growth teams chase younger demographics.
That default is increasingly out of step with the world's population. People are living longer, families are smaller, and the number of older adults is growing quickly in almost every country. For technology companies, this isn't a niche. It's a shift in who the users are, what they need, and who pays.
This article looks at the demographic facts, what they mean for product design and business models, and the principles that separate technology older adults actually use from technology that ends up in a drawer.
The Demographic Shift in Numbers
The United Nations' World Population Prospects 2024 sets out how quickly the world is ageing:
By the mid-2030s, there are projected to be 265 million people aged 80 and older, more than the number of infants.
By the late 2070s, the number of people aged 65 and older is projected to reach 2.2 billion, surpassing the number of children under 18.
Global life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2024 and is projected to reach around 77.4 years by 2054.
By the late 2050s, more than half of all deaths worldwide are projected to occur at age 80 or older.
The UN notes that even countries with relatively young, fast-growing populations will see the number of older people rise over the next 30 years, and that ageing societies will need to strengthen health and long-term care and invest in new technologies.
Longer Lives Bring New Needs
Living longer is a success story. But more years of life also means more people living with chronic conditions, sensory changes and cognitive changes, and more families providing care.
Caregiving is already a mass-market reality. The Caregiving in the US 2025 report found 63 million Americans, about 1 in 4 adults, are family caregivers, and most working-age caregivers also hold jobs.
Isolation is widespread. A National Academies report found about 24 percent of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are socially isolated.
Dementia is a growing challenge. The World Health Organization describes dementia as one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.
Each of these is a design brief as much as a statistic.
What It Means for Product Design
Older adults are not a single group. A 68-year-old running a business and a 90-year-old living with dementia need very different things. But some design principles apply broadly.
Design for sensory changes. Larger default text, strong contrast, clear icons, captions and good audio. The 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia lists hearing loss and untreated vision loss among 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia, a reminder of how common these changes are.
Design for cognitive load. Fewer steps, consistent layouts, forgiving error handling, and no surprise redesigns. Familiarity is a feature.
Design for more than one user. Much technology for older adults is used in a triangle: the person, their family, and professionals. Products that serve all three, with clear permissions, tend to stick.
Design with, not just for. Involve older adults and carers in research and testing from the start. Assumptions made by young product teams are often wrong.
Plan for change over time. Needs evolve. Products should be able to simplify as abilities change, not just add features.
Our articles on tech frustration in older adults and technology fatigue look at the user side of this.
Trust, Privacy and Dignity
Technology for older adults often handles sensitive information: health, location, daily routines. It also sits close to questions of independence and autonomy. Getting this wrong erodes trust quickly.
Good practice includes:
consent that the older person genuinely understands
clear control over who sees what
no selling or unexpected sharing of data
avoiding surveillance-style features that treat people as risks rather than users
honesty about what the product can and can't do, including no overstated health claims
Our article on privacy and security in agetech explores this further.
Business Models Are Shifting Too
Consumer app models built on advertising and engagement often fit poorly with older adults and their families. Increasingly, value sits with the organisations responsible for health outcomes and care costs.
In the US, value-based care models reward providers for keeping people healthier and out of hospital, which creates demand for tools that improve visibility between visits. Medicare's GUIDE Model for dementia care, for example, pays participating programs to provide care coordination and caregiver support. Our value-based care page explains why the time between appointments matters so much to these organisations.
Distribution matters as well. Older adults are more likely to adopt tools that arrive through channels they already trust, such as their health provider, their retirement community or a service they already use, than through an app store search.
Elli Cares was built around these principles. It's designed for older adults living with cognitive changes, their families and care teams, with simple reminders, video messages from family, daily wellbeing check-ins and a shared care circle. For providers, AI summaries and a clinician dashboard help teams see what's happening between visits. Elli is designed to embed into existing patient portals and aged care apps rather than asking people to find and learn yet another app.
AI: Promise With Care
AI can help surface patterns in large amounts of information, summarise what's changed, draft communications and reduce administrative work for care teams. It can also over-promise.
For AI in ageing and dementia care, the bar should be high: clear evidence, human oversight, transparency about limitations, and no replacing human connection where it matters most. Our article on AI-powered dementia apps looks at where this is heading.
Where the Opportunity Is
Rather than chasing gadgets, the biggest opportunities tend to sit in unglamorous, high-value problems:
helping people manage medications and routines at home
keeping families informed without constant phone calls
giving care teams a clearer picture between appointments
reducing avoidable hospital visits
supporting family caregivers so they can keep going
making everyday technology more accessible for everyone
For a view of who's working on what, see our dementia market map.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the ageing population affecting technology?
It's shifting who technology needs to serve. Products increasingly need to account for sensory and cognitive changes, involve family caregivers and care teams, and meet higher standards for trust and privacy.
What is agetech?
Agetech refers to technology designed to support older adults and the people who care for them, including health, safety, connection, independence and care coordination.
When will older people outnumber children?
The UN projects that people aged 65 and older will outnumber children under 18 globally by the late 2070s, and people aged 80 and older will outnumber infants by the mid-2030s.
What makes technology easy for older adults to use?
Clear, consistent design, larger text and good contrast, fewer steps, support for family involvement, and introduction through trusted channels.
Building for Everyone's Future
The technology built today for older adults is technology most of us will use ourselves one day. To learn more about how Elli Cares works with providers, visit our value-based care page, or see our Seniors and Families page.
