People over the age of 50 are more tech savvy than any previous generation. The last of the Boomers and early Generation X kids have seen a variety of technological advances during their lifetimes — mobile phones, the Internet, HD television and virtual reality.

Technology gets less expensive and more powerful each year. Now there are more ways for people over the age of 50 to use smart phones to live healthier lives, save money and time, and connect to the individuals and entertainment at the touch of a finger.

One of the most promising and influential trends in technology of the past few years has been the rise of mobile apps. Apps can help users do just about anything, right from their smartphone or tablet. Here are some apps to consider downloading and testing that are sure to make your daily life much easier.

Apps To Keep You Connected To People

It’s easier than ever to stay connected to friends and family a mile or a world away. Here are some apps to check out to help stay in touch with just about everyone.

Facebook – If you’re still holding off on joining you’re way, WAY behind. Facebook is the way people connect, collect information, stay in touch and even do business. Keep up to date with the lives of all the people you’re closest to and even chat with them in the Messenger feature, in one simple place.

Touchnote — The Touchnote app uses photos from your smartphone to make cards and postcards, which can be printed and posted for you in several different countries– depending on the address of the recipient. It’s a spontaneous and fun way to send messages to friends and family all over the world. They last a lot longer than a text message, too!

Apps For Traveling

With advanced age comes more time, and reasons, to travel. Long gone are the days of holding up maps — or even asking directions — as smartphones have made it even easier to navigate strange cities with ease. Something to note, however, you may notice an increase in data usage with navigation apps.

Google Maps – Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by, you guessed it, Google. It’s satellite imagery, street maps, 360° panoramic views (Street View), real-time traffic conditions (Google Traffic), and route planning make traveling by foot, car, bicycle or public transportation a breeze. Just tell Google Maps where you want to go, and it will tell you how to get there with much more efficiency than any stranger on the street.

Waze – Imagine millions of drivers out on the roads, working together towards a common goal: to outsmart traffic and get everyone the best route to work and back, every day. Waze is the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas on their daily commute.

Lyft – Don’t feel like navigating a strange city, or even your own hometown? Lyft is a ride wherever, and whenever, you need one. Riding with Lyft costs less than a taxi, and makes getting around extremely affordable. Lyft tells you all about the driver, car, expected time of arrival and even an estimated destination arrival time. Plus, the entire transaction happens right on your phone.

Apps To Keep You Healthy & Safe

Health and fitness tracking apps are technology’s way of helping you live a better life. These apps record and analyze what you eat, measure your steps, track your sleep and even help you exercise.

MyFitnessPal: Fad diets don’t work. Medical studies show that the best way to lose weight (and keep the weight off) is by tracking the foods you eat. MyFitnessPal is a free mobile app that makes calorie counting and food tracking easy. It will even keep track of your carb, salt, and fat intake to keep you on track.

Stepz: Exercising doesn’t always mean going to the gym. Staying healthy is as easy as taking a step — or a couple thousand. Stepz is a free pedometer app that tracks all the basics: step count, calories burned, distance, floors climbed, and active time. Adjust the goal for number of steps walked in a day based on your lifestyle and step history. The app will give you a slightly challenging, yet achievable goal based on your weekly averages.

Dinner Spinner: One of the best-rated cooking apps available, Dinner Spinner helps search for online recipes online based on the ingredients already in your kitchen. Save time, avoid wasting food, do more efficient grocery shopping, and enjoy healthier, meals with one single app.

National Parks App by National Geographic: The National Parks app is a great source of inspiration if you’re looking for ideas to get outside and visit some of the most beautiful parks in the country. Created by National Geographic, the National Parks App is an interactive guide to 25 of America’s most visited national parks. The app includes free photo galleries, visitor information, and maps.

5Star Urgent Response: For those who live alone, there are plenty of apps available to quickly connect you with emergency help or even communicate your medical information to first responders. If you or a loved one is concerned about being able to quickly get help in case of an emergency, accident or illness, this app is a necessity.

Taking this concept to the next level, Friends Life Care connects eligible members with in-home monitoring systems and members can access those by speaking with their care coordinators. Two options are currently available: a personal emergency response system (pendant or bracelet) through Connect America or in-home sensors and notification technologies through Select Security. Safety and security is a critical component to aging safely at home.

For more information on how technology is shaping the future of home care, view last month’s blog post here.

Apps To Remind You Of Stuff

From grocery lists to remembering that plumbing appointment, there are plenty of apps to help remember life is often one massive “to do” list.

Any.Do: This To Do app is the most popular reminder app for every smartphone because it’s so simple to use. Add shopping lists, places to visit, meetings and other events. Add notes and set a reminder for the time and date and never miss a major event again.

Wunderlist: This app helps you organize and share your to-do, work, grocery, movies and chore lists. Wunderlist makes it easy to get things done –no matter what you’re planning. Whether you’re planning a party, sharing a shopping list, managing work projects–Wunderlist helps you tick off all your to-dos.