Baby boomers becoming the new millennials
The tech world and tech enthusiasts have descended upon Las Vegas for the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show to see some of the latest advances and devices in technology. But Kairos founder Ankur Jain takes issue with this, proposing Silicon Valley’s priority should be on tackling America’s biggest issues, not impressing with the latest gadgets.
“Silicon Valley, we’ve taken pride for a long time in solving some of the world’s biggest problems. But I don’t think it takes more than a couple minutes at this dark CES to see another Alexa-powered toaster, Alexa-powered fridge, Alexa-powered toilet to realize that these aren’t the biggest problems the world is facing,” Jain told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.”
Jain, the former vice president of product at Tinder, argues Silicon Valley should focus on broader issues such as mounting student loan debt and the high cost of rent in cities such as New York. He predicts one of the biggest trends for 2018 will be streamlining health care.
“The trend baby boomers becoming the new millennials in the sense that for the first time ever you have an entire generation, 10,000 people retiring a day and the first generation that’s tech savvy right?” Jain said.
According to Jain, baby boomers’ level of comfort with technology will lead to a health care shift out of hospitals.
“So, 72% of Baby Boomers use Facebook daily,” he said. “Think about that. So you’ve got a generation that’s retiring that’s now comfortable using mobile phones, tech at home, etc. And one of the big shifts we’ll see from that is that health care is going to be moving out of the hospitals and into the homes.”
But Jain said the latest technology doesn’t just help boomers.
“It’s the boomers’ parents who they can now take care of by using these tech-enabled solutions putting basic things in their homes,” he said.
Jain then pointed to the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watch as an example of a tech device already having an impact on health care.
“Today an Apple Watch can be tracking someone’s health more efficiently and effectively than any other platform, better than these care homes,” Jain said.