How technology is shaping aging futures in a post-pandemic world
- Gisele Gallibois
- Nov 3
- 3 min read
Students, faculty, staff and members of the Fredericton community gathered at the Kinsella Auditorium on Oct. 28 for the annual Dr. T. LeRoy Creamer Memorial Lecture.
The lecture was presented by Barbara Marshall, emeritus professor of sociology at Trent University, and it was organized by Janet Durkee-Lloyd, acting chair of St. Thomas University’s Department of Gerontology.
The lecture, "Is Technology the Solution to Better Aging Futures?," examined how technological innovation is reshaping aging and whether these tools truly create better lives for older adults.
This lecture series honours T. LeRoy Creamer, a 1945 STU alumnus and pioneer in geriatric medicine who helped promote geriatrics as a multidisciplinary field in New Brunswick.
Two of Creamer’s sons, Tom and Bob Creamer, attended the lecture in his memory.
Opening the discussion, Marshall pointed to what she called “technological solutionism," the belief that every social problem, including aging, can be solved by innovation.
“We can expect a growing aging population with functional limitations and comorbidities that will burden already stretched healthcare systems,” she said. “So, there’s an urgent push to find technological interventions that predict, prevent and manage age-related decline.”
The COVID-19 pandemic, she added, made this mindset even stronger.
“The pandemic shed light on the vulnerabilities of older adults,” said Marshall. “They were subject to some of the most punishing aspects of social distancing—loneliness and isolation became defining experiences for many.”
“The appalling state of many long-term care facilities showed that those were not places people wanted to go,” she said. “Technology was then offered as a solution to aging safely and independently at home.”
Marshall noted that while video platforms like Zoom helped older adults stay connected, the rapid growth of “smart” monitoring tools brought new ethical questions.
“Devices that track daily routines, like when someone wakes up, eats, or takes medication, are meant to ensure safety,” she explained. “But they also turn private homes into sites of surveillance.”
She described how the technology industry now heavily invests in sensors, wearable devices, and artificial intelligence to monitor aging bodies.
“With these technologies, alarms and alerts are often directed to someone else—a younger hand holding a device,” she said. “They promise to predict decline, but they also shift the responsibility of care from people to data systems.”
Albert Banerjee, STU associate professor and research chair in Community Health and Aging, cautioned that technology should not be seen as a cure-all.
“Technology can play an important part, but it’s far from a solution,” he said. “We have to keep in mind the motivations behind technological fixes—they’re often selling hope. A crutch can help someone, but better aging is far more complicated than that.”
He added that the pandemic reminded many people of the irreplaceable value of in-person interaction.
“One of the things COVID taught us is the importance of face-to-face communication and just being in the presence of somebody,” he said.
Marshall also cited research showing that some older adults resist constant monitoring because it threatens their autonomy.
“They value control, agency and independence,” she said. “These devices can make them feel watched rather than cared for.”
MacKenzie Adams, a first-year gerontology student at STU, said she left the lecture reflecting on technology’s double-edged nature.
“Technology is so important for older adults, but it’s not everything,” she said. “Dr. Marshall mentioned a system that sends a text if someone’s in the washroom too long. That was mind-blowing, but also a reminder that people deserve privacy.”
Lauren Stymiest, a student majoring in English with a minor in gerontology, saw the other side of the debate.
“Technology that tracks daily activities gives families peace of mind,” she said. “If someone’s eating and sleeping properly, you won’t miss a thing. It really helps families feel their loved ones are safe.”
Marshall concluded her talk by emphasizing that while technology can assist aging populations, it cannot replace the social and emotional dimensions of care.
“We need to think of technology within a web of human connections,” she said. “It might be part of the answer, but only alongside bigger social changes. We cannot solve social problems with a quick technological fix.”