South Korea's elderly are more willing to their invest their precious time and money on enjoying themselves compared to the past.<br />With the shift in consumption trends, instead of being largely overlooked, the market for products aimed at the elderly is rapidly expanding.<br />Hong Yoo reports.<br />In the past, senior citizens had a hard time keeping up with the latest consumption trends,... especially in electronic devices such as smartphones.<br />But now, around 80 percent of people in their 60s carry smartphones,... especially ones that have been customized to be easier for older people to use.<br />There are many other products that have been designed to target the elderly,... who have been called the "new silver generation" in Korea.<br />One of these is a smartphone which has content tailored to the older generation,... such as teuroteu music and word quiz games.<br />Also, it comes with a pre-installed dementia prevention app... that helps users check their mental health once in a while.<br />It has a wide 6-inch screen and is very user friendly.<br />"I use smartphones to watch videos on YouTube. I watch the news with my phone and I also use Kakaotalk to chat with people."<br />There are also AI speakers made for elderly citizens living alone... which they can talk to and feel less lonely.<br />The device can detect a user's emotions when they're having a conversation.<br />Even though it's not a human companion, the elderly say it helps them feel less lonely.<br />Even more, they come equipped with games designed to prevent dementia.<br />Users can ask the speaker to start the quiz,... where they will have to answer 4 questions based on memorization.<br />"Aging well" is a term that could sum up the latest consumption trends among the elderly.<br />They are willing to spend more on healthy foods,... and other premium goods that are organic and eco-friendly.<br />"The new silver generation, people who have the money and time to invest in themselves, consume in order to reward themselves and be happy. This is called self-focused consumption."<br />In fact, because of the growing elderly population, the consumer market for senior citizens, excluding financial products,... is expected to reach 60-point-8 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.<br />Hong Yoo, Arirang News.<br />
