Benefits and challenges of voice assistants for the elderly

Loneliness has become a very important social problem in recent decades. The unwanted emotions it can cause have a direct impact on people’s psychological well-being and are related to an increased risk of isolation, a decline in quality of life, poorer health, and even increased mortality. This situation is aggravated among older people, since they are a social group that is particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon.

A team of researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has conducted a review of studies on the ability of voice assistants to reduce feelings of loneliness among older people.

“The primary objective of our work was to examine the evidence on the impact of the use of voice assistants on loneliness among older adults. We wanted to find out whether these devices could be an effective tool to address this growing problem in today’s society,” said Elena Castro.

Castro is a student in the doctoral program in Health and Psychology at the UOC and the lead author of a review, published in Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. The paper was coauthored by professors at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Modesta Pousada and Eulàlia Hernández. All of them are researchers from the Behavioral Design Lab group at the UOC’s eHealth Center.

Estimates suggest that there are nearly 3 million older people who suffer from loneliness in some way in Spain alone, according to calculations by the Siempre Acompañados program undertaken by the “La Caixa” Foundation.

In fact, loneliness is a growing social problem, especially with an aging population, with consequences that go far beyond social aspects. Recent calculations by the ONCE Foundation estimate the cost of loneliness in Spain at more than €14 billion per year, equivalent to 1.17% of Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Benefits of voice assistants for loneliness

After the review, the experts found that 85% of the studies analyzed concluded that the use of devices had made a direct contribution to reducing loneliness.

“The use of commercial voice assistants in the daily lives of older people can play a positive role in their psychological well-being, and contribute significantly to improving their mental health by mitigating feelings of loneliness,” Castro explained.

Some of the participants in the studies described voice assistants “as a friend or a companion,” and referred to them as “a human being.” This aspect is essential, as voice assistants not only provide a sense of social interaction, but can also provide considerable emotional support, especially for older adults experiencing prolonged isolation.

Even if the interaction is not physical, simply having a “presence” that responds and assists with everyday tasks can create a significant emotional connection, reducing the perception of loneliness and fostering a greater sense of well-being. This type of interaction can also mitigate the distress associated with isolation, and improve emotional stability among older people.

This type of technology can therefore help older people feel more connected and less alone. This is another example of how emerging technologies are becoming a support to consider in order to facilitate social interaction and enhance how certain tasks are performed.

In specific terms, these devices can make managing everyday life easier by means of reminders, provide quick and easy access to information and entertainment, and even make the person feel they have support.

“The aim is not to replace human interaction, but instead to offer a solution in situations where these systems can improve people’s quality of life,” explained the expert. However, there are still barriers to its implementation, such as lack of familiarity with technology, resistance to change and mistrust.

“This is compounded by the need to tailor the assistants to suit individual needs, and to improve their ability to hold complex conversations,” she added.

Specific training and skills are therefore required for older people to be able to use this type of device effectively and incorporate it into their daily life.

About 11% of the Spanish population currently uses online voice assistants at some point, according to data provided by the Spanish Media Research Association (AIMC). These figures are rising every year in Spanish homes.

“The World Health Organization now considers loneliness a public health problem, and has highlighted its serious negative impact on older adults’ physical and mental health, quality of life and life expectancy. Loneliness is also associated with problems including depression, anxiety and faster cognitive decline,” said Castro, stressing the urgent need to address this problem.

“Commercially available voice assistants have significant potential to help reduce loneliness in older adults, provided they are accompanied by appropriate training and accessibility that enable the use of these technologies to be integrated, adapted to individual needs, and overcome the mistrust that new technologies create among older people in order to maximize their effectiveness,” concluded the authors.

However, further research is needed to enhance their benefits and analyze their potential risks, as well as the ethical considerations involved in using this type of technology to combat loneliness.