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As the older adult population in Europe is growing steadily, especially those living in rural areas, the issue of loneliness and social isolation has become of significant concern.

Prof. Niall Hayes. Prof. Lucas Introna and Dr. Marcia Smith, from Lancaster University, explain about Mobile Age that "We now have a fully functioning demonstrator app that is being piloted in South Lakeland, which has the potential to be extended across the country. With a working title "Social Connectedness", the demonstrator contains new programs that are in development, such as a launch portal, events, services, and volunteering applications - plus a feature to upload images of posters for local events that might not be listed online (i.e. local car boot sales). Users are able to build their own profile to select their preferences about transport, with how far and for how long they want to travel, whilst setting a limit to the cost of events. They can request to view transport options and routes to the event on an ‘age friendly’ map that includes the location of nearby toilets and benches too. As we found that older adults like to see that they have a full week ahead to look forward to, we know that planning the week itself is important – so we incorporated a calendar that allows the user to organise their schedule as well".

Find the full article here 

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