Posts Tagged ‘demographics’
Digital Divide Still Prevalent
05/07/2012
Wireless technology is changing the landscape and helping bridge the digital divide. Photo via Creative Commons, by YoTuT
By Lisa Nelson, http://blog.howto.gov/2012/04/20/digital-divide-still-prevalent/
The rapid adoption of mobile and mobile devices is providing Internet access to those who had little or no none before.
With almost 90% of American twenty-somethings accessing the Internet through smartphones or tablets, the digital divide may narrow significantly by the end of the decade.
Despite this sunny future, a PEW Internet report looks at differences in digital access and use among American adults and finds one in five people do not use the Internet.
While increased Internet adoption and the rise of mobile connectivity have reduced many gaps in technology access over the past decade, for some groups digital disparities still remain.
The report finds that those most likely to be part of the digital divide include: Read the rest of this entry »
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How did we get to 7 billion people so fast?
05/07/2012
I was born into a world with about 2.5 billion people, but there are now over 7 billion.
Better medicine and improved agriculture have resulted in longer life expectancies and a dramatic increase in world population. As higher standards of living and better health care reach more parts of the world and bring birth control, population growth should slow, but U.N. forecasters still predict a world peak of over 10 billion by 2100. As population then declines, there will be significantly fewer working people to support the elderly, and that poses an economic dilemma for future generations.
NPR’s video, 7 Billion: How Did We Get So Big So Fast? uses colored liquids to visualize population growth on different continents. WATCH BELOW
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The Future of U.S. Healthcare, by Barry Bittman, MD
11/18/2011
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Forecasts for the Future of Healthcare
10/21/2011
FORESIGHT may be the single most critical skill for the 21st Century.
Knowledge quickly goes out of date, but foresight enables you to anticipate and navigate change, make good decisions, and take action to create a better future. It’s why I’ve been a member of the Central Texas chapter of the World Future Society for years, where I meet interesting people with widely varied perspectives of the future. It’s also why I participate in so many Linkedin discussion groups on emerging healthcare issues.
9 Forecasts for the Future of Healthcare
The following nine forecasts came from the World Future Society’s special report, 20 Forecasts for 2011-2025. It’s a promotional piece to attract new members who then get a subscription to The Futurist magazine.
Forecast #1: The Race for Genetic Enhancements Will Be What the Space Race Was in the 20th Century. Genetic therapies and biomedical enhancements will be a multibillion-dollar industry. New techniques will enable doctors to change your DNA to revitalize old or diseased organs, enhance your appearance, increase your athletic ability, or boost your intelligence.
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The Many Faces of Aging in America
10/07/2011
We had this video on the Home Page but replaced it with a new one so moved the video here:
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The World’s Population is Aging – Rapidly
06/16/2011
Increased longevity and very low birth rates are changing the world population mix and stressing both retirement financing and health care systems since the need for medical attention increases with age. The population of children under 5 years old will soon peek and gradually decline, while the number of people ages 65+ is increasing. By 2050, some 1.5 billion older people ages 65+ will represent 16% of the globe, up from just 5% in 1950.
America Is at the Nexus of Aging and Multiculturalism
06/06/2011
By Fernando Torres-Gil and Diana Lam, March-April 2011, AgingToday.org
The United States, like other nations, is now experiencing a “silver” tsunami. And, as has occurred in other countries, we’ve seen this tidal force coming, but are not prepared for it. Millions of native-born baby boomers started turning age 65 this year. By 2032, there will be more people alive over the age of 65 than under the age of 15: there will be more older adults than children. And between now and 2050, the entire age 65-plus population will increase from 13% to 20%.
So starts this 3-page article from the bimonthly newspaper of the American Society on Aging. It continues to describe issues related to people living longer and recommends some Steps to Shape the Future, including:
Census reveals Surprising Trends in Eldercare
06/03/2011
More men than ever expected to assume caregiving roles
By Nina Dunn, Spector & Associates, 6/01/2011
Most figures from the 2010 census were no surprise to anyone in the elder care industry. According to the data released last week, the population aged 45 to 64 (also referred as baby boomers) grew more than 30 percent, up to 81.5 million people. This generation now makes up more than 26 percent of the total U.S. population. The numbers proved what many in our industry already suspected: that our nation is rapidly growing older.
More interesting data came from the census report Age and Sex Composition: 2010. Thanks to advances in healthcare and medicine, the male population grew faster than the female population, particularly in the 60-plus age group: the number of men increased by 35.2 percent as opposed to just 29.2 percent for women in the same age group. This narrowed the male-female ratio among mature adults.
