Why Seniors Need Simplified TV Interfaces (Not Complex Streaming)

Your phone buzzes for the fifth time this morning, and you know it’s Mom before you even pick it up, needing help with her TV. You wish there was a simplified TV interface designed for seniors that could eliminate her problems with complex streaming services. She’s been trying to watch a TV show all morning and keeps running into issues, and it’s up to you to fix them.

She couldn’t find her ‘Continue watching’ section among the vast amount of recommended and promotional content. She skipped an episode by accident and needed help finding the right one. She wanted to adjust the subtitle settings because she lost her glasses. She accidentally paid for content she thought was included with her subscription.

Whatever the issue is, you do your best to remedy it. But you’re not always around to help and, sometimes, you’re just tired. We’ve been there. Repeating yourself can be frustrating, and because streaming services like Netflix and Hulu receive regular content updates and feature fixes weekly or bi-weekly, according to data from the Apple App Store, it seems like your instructions are always a little different anyway.

As of 2024, about 90% of U.S. adults over the age of 65 say they use the internet, and we’ve learned that most adults 50 and over are “comfortable with tech” and imagined a world in which certain technologies can help empower independence in older adults. 

Seniors see the value in technology and want to use it, but it’s not always made to be accessible by default for the elderly population. 

Every modern streaming service tends to have issues with complex organization, multiple menus, and information overload. But streaming services are where the content is nowadays, and if you can’t ditch your subscription, what else is there to do?

Using a family-assisted entertainment service like JubileeTV, your parent keeps all their existing streaming services and you gain the ability to see exactly what’s happening on their screen while they’re describing the issue to you over texts or a phone call. 

Essentially, JubileeTV simplifies TV complexity by merely bypassing the go-between role and letting you fix your parents’ TV issues with a few simple taps in a mobile app. With a service like this, you can feel better prepared for any challenges your elderly relatives may face in the future.

As we age, we expect that our bodies and minds will change. But sometimes, these changes feel like they happen overnight. It’s a common experience for families to feel disheartened when watching an elderly parent or client try to navigate the daily routines they’ve known for years with new challenges.

Debbie’s elderly aunt has experienced poor eyesight since she was little, while Paul’s father had perfect vision until later in life. Studies show that genes, lifestyle, age, and diet affect age-related macular degeneration (AMD) , so it’s difficult to predict what kinds of issues might present themselves and when, but nearly two million Americans had been diagnosed with AMD in 2021 

Thanks to a 2022 study on visual impairment in the elderly, we know that many visual changes are simply part of the normal aging process, such as a decline in the eyes’ ability to adapt to light and dark, lower contrast sensitivity, and presbyopia, or “when your eyes gradually lose the ability to see things clearly up close.” In old age, some people could face even greater visual impairments, like cataracts or refractive errors.

It’s also been proven that reduced motor control is associated with aging. I’ve seen this decreased control firsthand in my husband’s 92-year-old grandfather, who often has trouble connecting cables and pressing small buttons on a remote — and this experience isn’t uncommon. 

One study suggests “Movement slows with age by as much as 15 – 30%,” and another study found participants over 75 years old to have noticeably worse fine motor skills.

On top of changes with vision and motor control, there are important cognitive changes to manage in old age as well. We’ve learned through scientific studies that aging can weaken your decision-making ability, thanks to delayed processing speeds, worsened working memory, and reduced overall executive function.

These natural changes cause a lot of anxiety around using technology, which in turn leads to learned helplessness that simply perpetuates feelings of dread or frustration for the senior in your life whenever they use their TV. 

To fully understand why moving to a simplified TV interface designed for seniors is a fantastic solution for all the aging challenges we’ve mentioned so far, let’s now dive into what exactly it is about traditional TV interfaces that fail seniors.

If Mom is calling about a problem with her Netflix app, it’s likely one of two issues: she’s having trouble finding what she wants to watch, or a trailer she didn’t want to watch has automatically started playing. 

Netflix does a lot of things right, but simple categorization isn’t one of them. The streaming giant has so much content that it wants to push out, and often, Netflix prioritizes showing you this new content over what you’ve already been watching. In addition to auto-playing trailers for recommended content when you open the app, Netflix plays previews when you hover over the tile for a show or movie.

The interface for Amazon Prime Video is similar to Netflix, with a slew of recommended options taking priority over content you’ve already started watching, but there’s one big difference to note. 

With a Prime Video subscription, you get access to a ton of TV shows and movies at no extra cost. However, some movies and shows you come across on Prime Video are not included with your subscription, but they are available to rent or buy. For seniors who have problems with TV interfaces, this subtle difference can add up to hundreds of dollars spent accidentally.

Hulu has the same confusing user interface issues with its on-demand content, but throws an extra wrench into the mix with live TV. Even non-elderly reviewers don’t have good things to say about Hulu’s live TV interface, describing it as “confounding” and “frustrating.” 

Among all the popular streaming services, Apple TV+ may be the simplest to use, but truthfully, no streaming service is as senior-friendly as it could be with a few easy design changes.

Thanks to multiple studies and years of research, we’ve learned that one of the most important design elements in a senior-friendly TV interface is simplified navigation.

What exactly does simple TV navigation for seniors look like? In short, an ideal TV interface that’s easy for seniors to use includes only what’s necessary. 

In place of complex categorization and lengthy menus, there could be a simple layout that requires minimal clicks to navigate, with noticeable, predictable patterns to pick up on. Rather than niche categories and recommended content, seniors should have the option to see logically organized categories, like by genre, and easily find their personal watchlists. 

Despite studies proving that senior-friendly TV interfaces can “enhance their sense of experience,” streaming services don’t currently see the value in offering simplified navigation for a small group of its customers. That said, there are a few minor ways streaming services could reasonably improve the experience for its older users, including: 

• Enabling the ability to customize on-screen text size for the home screen, menus, and subtitles in content

• Allowing contrast adjustments in settings

• Developing stronger voice control commands

• Preventing errors by building in confirmation dialog boxes and undo options

Technology can help lighten the load with dementia care planning, caring for an elderly parent within your own home, or even moving a parent into assisted living. The key is to remember to use technology as a way to “enhance, not replace, human-to-human social interactions” — a sentiment expressed in a study on tech in dementia care — and that’s exactly what JubileeTV strives to do with its family-assisted streaming tech.

JubileeTV isn’t designed to replace existing streaming services. Instead, it’s meant to work with the streaming services your elderly relative already knows and loves, and make them simpler to use.

To be fair, there is a new overlay interface to get used to, but JubileeTV’s interface is super simple for seniors, with big icons and large text that’s easy to read. Selecting the Favorites option pulls up the most frequently used streaming apps and channels, and then you can navigate your favorite streaming services the same way you always have.

JubileeTV makes it easier to keep existing streaming subscriptions organized, but that’s not what makes it such a great service for seniors. The best way JubileeTV makes streaming more accessible for seniors is through its family-assisted features, features that have earned it recognition as a world-changing innovation.

Through JubileeTV, any family member can chime in to see exactly what’s happening on Mom’s TV screen, troubleshoot an issue with the streaming service, and even start playing content, whether you’re right beside her or halfway across the country. 

Being able to assist remotely improves TV usability for your senior parent and lightens the load on you, especially if there are other family members or friends you can share the responsibilities with, regardless of distance. Then, no matter how complex streaming interfaces become, someone will always be around to help your senior relative out.

What’s more, JubileeTV can help seniors with more than just streaming difficulties. With this service hooked up to Dad’s TV, you can send reminders for appointments and medication, be on the big screen for video calls, remotely drop in if you haven’t heard from him in a while, and so much more. 

It’s 1 p.m. and you’ve just sat down to lunch in the middle of a busy day. You check your phone, see three missed calls from Mom, and let out a big sigh, knowing there’s a good chance it’s an issue with her TV you’ll need to stop by in person to fix. 

We know what it’s like to balance caretaking with running your own home, working, and other responsibilities.. Of course you’re happy to help whenever your parent runs into problems with their TV setup, but if you’ve ever wished there was a better way, you’re not alone.

JubileeTV is a simple add-on to senior’s existing TV setup that enhances existing streaming services, largely by allowing family members to troubleshoot remotely. Using a family-assisted service like this lets you continue to help play your parent’s favorite TV shows, fix inevitable connectivity issues, and manage constantly updating, complex streaming interfaces that can be difficult for seniors to master.

After choosing the best JubileeTV plan and activating your membership, you’re sent a console to mount on top of a TV. Once everything is connected and powered on, setup is simple via steps on the TV, followed by instructions through the JubileeTV mobile app. 

One happy customer, Michelle Hatfield, says she used to visit her grandmother daily to “guide her in utilizing her television to locate the content” she likes to watch. She thinks JubileeTV has “proven to be worthwhile” for the cost, thanks to not only the remote assistance capabilities, but also the ability for her grandmother to view photos and participate in more frequent video calls.

Daily visits cost both time and money, and the level of care and interaction between you and your elderly relative might not be the best it could be if the entire visit is spent troubleshooting the TV or issues with streaming complexity. Plus, with an easier time viewing content, seniors get more usage out of the streaming services they’re already paying for. 

Ultimately, JubileeTV improves senior’s experiences with streaming by providing a simplified TV interface that’s easy to navigate and can be mirrored on a mobile app at any time for remote assistance. All the other built-in features — remote drop-ins, on-screen reminders, video calls on a large screen, and so on — are there to give you peace of mind and keep you connected when you’re not able to stop by in person.

Shop all available JubileeTV plans to find the best option for you, or take this short quiz to see if the service is the right fit for you and your family.