The following white paper is a summary of over 10 research studies and the thematic results coalesced from them. Findings include reduced feelings of depression, isolation and loneliness; reduced use of medication; increased cognitive activity; increased feelings of purpose; and reduced burden of care for care partners.
As millions of older adults across the United States continue to experience loneliness and social isolation, non-profit organizations like Capital Caring Health in Washington, D.C. are turning to robotic pets as a low-cost, high-impact solution. Over the past 4 years, Capital Caring has donated thousands of robotic pets to older adults locally, regionally, and nationally, offering a potential, scalable solution to the nation’s loneliness epidemic.
Technology is often viewed as a contributor to our culture’s epidemic of loneliness and isolation, but one company is trying to prove the opposite. Ageless Innovation’s meowing “cats,” wagging “dogs,” and chirping “birds” have lifted the spirits of many seniors, with numerous state-sponsored programs funding the interactive, animatronic pets for veterans and those in hospice care. Three Washington, D.C. wards recently began distributing the Joy for All Companion Pets to residents 60 and older.
Some households just aren’t cut out for live animals. If you don’t think responsibility for the well-being of a fellow creature is the best choice for you, there are a few interesting alternatives like these lifelike, electronic companion pets that mimic the purrs and barks of a furry friend but without any of the accompanying costs, furniture gnawing, and poop handling.
Virginia Kellner got the cat last November, around her ninety-second birthday, and now it’s always nearby. It keeps her company as she moves, bent over her walker, from the couch to the bathroom and back again. The walker has a pair of orange scissors hanging from the handlebar, for opening mail. Virginia likes the pet’s green eyes. She likes that it’s there in the morning, when she wakes up. Sometimes, on days when she feels sad, she sits in her soft armchair and rests the cat on her soft stomach and just lets it do its thing. Nuzzle. Stretch. Vibrate.
As seniors find themselves cut off from loved ones during the pandemic, some are turning to automated animals for company.