Parks Associates in May estimated that over 10% of the 65+ population will own a PERS -- for Personal Emergency Response System -- device by 2021, and that figure will jump to 15% for seniors 75 and over. By that year, more than 56 million Americans will be 65 and over.

That’s good growth, but still leaves a lot of elderly people who won’t be using wearables. Jennifer Kent, director of research quality and product development at Parks, earlier told Marketing Daily that the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” messaging made famous by Life Alert all the way back in 1987, has created a hard-to-shake stigma. As a result, many older people have a strong resistance to even the more subtle smartwatch versions. 

From the article "Wearables Find Market With 55+ Users, Big Gains Predicted For Next Year" by P.J. Bednarski.

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