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Joseph F. Coughlin
Director of the MIT AgeLab
Joseph F. Coughlin is director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab (http://agelab.mit.edu). His research explores how demographic change, technology and consumer behavior drive innovations in business and society. Coughlin teaches in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Sloan School's Advanced Management Program. He is author of the new book The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World's Fastest-Growing, Most Misunderstood Market (Public Affairs, 2017).
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Marketers and product developers are showing new interest in older consumers. That interest must include more than simply dusting off brands and banking on fond memories. Many brand strategists hold […]
Aging is new. Lifespans today in the industrialized world are 30-40 years more than they were 100 years ago. Older adults are among the fastest growing cohorts in developing economies. […]
It’s Mother’s Day. Are you thinking about mom? No, not because it’s Mother’s Day, but because mom is a trendsetter a virtual thermometer of what’s hot and what’s not. I […]
Change is good. It introduces the new and tests the assumptions of the old. I have made a change in the publishing strategy of disruptivedemographics.com. Beginning May 2011 ‘Disruptive Demographics’ will […]
MIT AgeLab is launching a new website. The updated content reflects the expanded research agenda of the Lab in transportation, health behavior, financial & longevity planning, and business & policy […]
The driving task has generally remained the same since the baby boomers learned to drive. That is about to change. New in-vehicle technologies are promising to make us more connected, aware […]
Communications and convenience giant (Nasdaq: RIMM) RIM, the maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry, sees a number of defining trends ahead. These reflect the themes of my own research and are […]
Few people can imagine their own old age – old age is always something that happens to parents, relatives and friends met at 30th reunions. Putting denial aside, with any […]
Ken Gronbach writes on CNBC.com that “Aging Boomers Could Spell Big Trouble for Walmart.” If true, this really is disruptive demographics when the world’s largest company is thought to be […]
Discussions of China tend to focus on size – a nation of over 1.3 billion people certainly deserves attention from business and investors worldwide. But, ‘total’ numbers reveal little about […]
The past four decades have seen major transformation in the roles and evolving responsibilities of employerswith regard to the lives of their employees. While business has changed with the ‘times,’ […]
Innovative product design is increasingly crucial as the generally educated and wealthier boomer consumer rises to the fore of the marketplace with a lifetime of technology experience and rising expectations […]
Ironically, the growth of new disruptive technologies is only rivaled by the growth of disruptive demographics in an aging marketplace. These two forces collide and are reconciled by designers on […]
The iPad. It’s new. It’s cool. And, it’s a terrific designexperience that is likely to excite and delight your grandmother…and you. It isa stellar example of what designers should consider […]
This is the second of afive-part interview of Joseph Coughlin on disruptive demographics and businessinnovation conducted by Rohit Sakhuja on WMBR MIT Radio’s Paradigm Shifts program. Inthis segment Coughlin envisions […]
Who is online? As thefigure shows, the majority of adults from 18 to 50 are living some form of digitallife. Even older adults 65 and older are growing in numbers […]
Product development and launch was easier when the consumer was young enough to see everything as new and novel. While admittedly fast moving and hard to keep, the ‘tween through […]
Family caregiving is a privatejob of love and work. Recently it has been getting public agenda status from anunexpected industry – financial services. While caregiving is a well studiedtopic among […]
The future of financial services will be more than managing money. The longevity gains of the last century present a financial risk that previous generations rarely encountered — a lifespan […]
It’s that time of year again. It’s summer time and olderdrivers are in the news. Perennially trapped between humor and horror thedebate on older drivers continues in every state house, […]