{"id":111167,"date":"2026-08-18T19:15:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=111167"},"modified":"2026-08-18T19:15:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:15:37","slug":"how-smart-speakers-can-help-older-adults-age-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/08\/how-smart-speakers-can-help-older-adults-age-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How smart speakers can help older adults age at home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contrary to popular belief, older adults are ready, willing and able to adopt new technologies that improve their sense of well-being, says Alisa Grigorovich.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of negative assumptions that older people can’t, or don\u2019t want to, learn new technologies, but our research definitely demonstrates that that’s not true,\u201d says the Brock University Associate Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies.<\/p>\n

Her international research team is conducting a long-running study to better understand how commercially available voice-activated technologies can support people who choose to age in their homes by observing whether and why older adults integrate this technology into their daily life.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/a>

Assistant Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies Alisa Grigorovich and her team have wrapped up the first phase of a long-running study on older adults\u2019 use of voice-activated technologies.<\/p><\/div>\n

Being able to control home devices or search the internet using conversational technologies like smart speakers or voice assistants can be particularly helpful for older adults who develop vision or dexterity challenges as they age, Grigorovich says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think voice technologies can support older adults\u2019 daily activities, leisure interests, social connections and other goals they have,\u201d she says. \u201cBut there’s not a lot of research yet that explores the value of these technologies in comparison to others already in use and how technologies can be redesigned or improved to fit older people’s real lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first phase of the three-part study focused on the Google Nest Hub, a smart device that has a built-in Google Assistant, a touchscreen display and a speaker.<\/p>\n

A group of 22 participants aged 55 and older from across Ontario were trained to use the devices in their homes for a six-month period. At various points during that time, they filled out surveys and were interviewed by researchers.<\/p>\n

The goal was to understand how older adults used the voice assistant, the challenges they experienced, the resources that supported their use of the tool and the value these technologies added to their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe participants were all very keen, very interested and wanted to learn,” Grigorovich says. “They appreciated the opportunity to try out this new technology and have support if they needed it. Most of them did not require much technical support.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and her team described their preliminary phase one results during a presentation<\/a> at the International Society for Gerontology\u2019s World Conference in Vancouver earlier this year. Their findings include:<\/p>\n