Benefits of social media for adults

The world population is ageing, and loneliness has become one of the major issues affecting the quality of life of our senior citizens.  

Additionally, we have observed that social computing increases social contexts through the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Smartphone and tablet proliferation also empower people to interact and create and share content, strengthening new forms of communication independent of time and space.  Therefore, the senior population would have a lot to gain by using social networks to overcome their solitude.  Nevertheless, the elder people are still digitally excluded due to their lack of technological skills, as well as age-related impairments.  Without the social network, the feelings of the senior population like belonging, companionship and connectivity, well-being and interaction, meaningfulness, and emotional comfort are get affected! 

The main thrust should be to digitally include all seniors --- independent of their educational level, literacy, or technological skills—by promoting a social network that allows them to share their life experiences, strengthen communication, improve their awareness of still playing an active and useful role in society, encourage emotional comfort, improve their health condition, and provide new forms of joyful entertainment in their lives.

No doubt the quality of life of senior citizens improved through the social network. 

It has been estimated that the globally increasing population are 65 or above.  This global phenomenon is leading to socioeconomic and political implications.  

As they retire, the elderly change from an active role in society to a more passive role. They no longer have a schedule or professional activity and interaction with their coworkers and instead, stay at home. Most do not have their children living with them anymore, and some are widowers/widows. Therefore, they usually find themselves lacking in purpose and lonely, which may lead to manifest depression due to social isolation which may lead to affect their state of mind and their physical health also. 

Due to the modern lifestyle with demanding jobs, childcare, household activities, social involvement, and digital lives leads to time issues and constraints to support the elderly otherwise as it should be. Moreover, it has been observed that to seek better life opportunities many children go abroad leaving their parents unattended.  This is an increasing trend now.  

Therefore, family members often develop feelings of guilt from their inability to provide proper care and attention to their elderly parents, especially when they are in distress or in a dangerous situation.  As a result, retired seniors are struggling to maintain a sustainable social security system. 

It is important that seniors should be keeping their independence, both physically and emotionally and emerging technologies and devices can contribute to this task.  It has been observed the exponential development of social networks to connect people all over the world. Additionally, devices such as mobiles or tablets are available at an affordable price and are now an intrinsic part of our daily lives, with more and more accessible interaction. Consequently, the combination of several technologies can improve the quality of life for seniors.

It is out of place to mention that solitude is the major issue that must be addressed when considering the elderly population.  It is clear that seniors prefer to maintain their independence and live in their own homes as long as possible, yet they are still eager to communicate. 

We cannot ignore that solitude and social exclusion is a transversal problems in rural and urban areas. While in rural areas isolation is often due to geographical locations, in urban areas isolation among the elderly can be attributed to a fear of walking in the bustling cities. Moreover, for those with reduced mobility who live in older buildings with no elevator, stairs are often an obstacle to leaving their homes. 

To overcome solitude and increase the use of virtual societies by the senior population, social networks and social media can play a crucial role when adequately applied to older adults. Social networks are leveraged to maintain active relationships with other family members or friends and continuous medical support, regardless of time or place. 

Despite the development of many software applications where people interact socially, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram, the needs and specifications of the senior population are often disregarded. The absence of a social network platform that meets the usability needs of seniors is identified as the major reason for their lack of involvement in Web 2.0 social networks, despite the many potential benefits. The senior population still struggles with digital exclusion and technological barriers. 

Given the intense benefit that social networks can provide to increase the quality of life for seniors and the fact that there are still many seniors who are unable to take advantage of these benefits, should explore social networks’ features and propose a fundamental set of mandatory characteristics so that all older people, despite their education level and technological skills, can fully enjoy social networks. Moreover, a solution using the proposed characteristics should be developed and further tested.

The appearance of social networks and the proliferation of low-cost devices -- such as tablets and smartphones --and existing internet communications have expanded the horizons in research seeking to apply new technologies to overcome social exclusion in the senior population.  

Platforms [encourage communications]

• AMCOSOP (Ambient Communication for Sense of Presence). This platform uses a touch screen device (home terminal and mobile client) and web services to encourage communications by the elderly with their families, friends, and professional caregivers. 
• Mazadoo platform. Mazadoo solution has a TV interface allowing the senior population to interact with Facebook, a wide social network already used by the family members of many seniors. The Mazadoo developers adapted the display of Facebook newsfeeds and content consultation on the home TV screen of the elderly user. 
• TV-Kiosk is another TV-based user interface designed for the elderly with the same goal of stimulating social interaction and avoiding isolation. 
• FoSIBLE (Fostering Social Interactions for a Better Life of the Elderly) aims to improve the quality of life for seniors by fostering social interaction among elderly people. 
• The HOMEdotOLD project has the same goal to advance the social interaction of elderly people. 
• SSP (Senior Social Platform) presents itself as a social network with a user-friendly interface focused on senior citizens. 

What we want to do is expand the use of social networks to every elderly person, even the illiterate.  The contribution aims to digitally include all seniors --- independent of their educational level, literacy, or technological skills—by promoting a social network that allows them to share their life experiences, strengthen communication, improve their awareness of still playing an active and useful role in society, encourage emotional comfort, improve their health condition, and provide new forms of joyful entertainment in their lives. 

As we live in a digital era people are always connected, sharing information, exchanging experiences and emotional feedback.  It is an extremely important role in combating the loneliness and emptiness manifested by the majority of the senior population by linking them to social networks and social media. 

Here are the characteristics to promote healthy ageing: 

• Simple interface: common minimalistic and intuitive social user interfaces must be developed.
• Extended interface: smartphones, tablets, and wearable technologies are contributing toward a more dynamic and ingrained interaction in our daily routines.
• Ease of feeding and finding: data must be easy to upload, share, and find.
• Being user-based: users fill the social network with conversations and content, in a collaborative and interactive way.
• User-generated content creation and exchange: social media enriches social networks. This characteristic is vital whenever the elderly is considered, as they have so many life experiences and so much wisdom to share.
• Emotion over content: sharing life experiences not only with friends but also with other persons who are passing through the same experience can provide extreme emotional comfort. Moreover, having a network of people to contact at any time provides reassurance that we are never alone.
• Relationships: in the course of our lives, we cross paths with many people with whom it is nearly impossible to keep in touch. The appearance of social networks has brought the opportunity to easily find old acquaintances and even some “lost” family members.
• Being community-driven: It is profitable to follow and interact with people who have a similar background in interpersonal growth.

The aim is for these proposed characteristics to develop positive feelings in the elderly and enhance the feeling of belonging, the social aspect of communication, and contact with remaining family members and friends face to face.  It will certainly help fight the loneliness that may occur when physical presence is not possible.

It is advisable that family members and other caregivers are able to use familiar social networks to interact with the elderly, like Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter, and other social networks that have Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in order to overcome solitude.  

Conclusion

Social networks can deeply increase the quality of life for the elderly, especially their ability to overcome solitude, a condition usually manifested by this population. Nevertheless, many seniors are still unable to take advantage of these benefits due to age-related issues and technological illiteracy, among other factors. 

The major goal is to overcome these issues and use social networks and social media to promote some positive feelings like the feeling of belonging, feeling of companionship and connectivity, feeling of well-being and interaction, feeling of meaningfulness and feeling of emotional comfort. Moreover, the purpose is to reach every elderly person, regardless of their education level, literacy, or technological skills. 

How Artificial intelligence will change the future

Everyone is talking about Artificial intelligence (AI).  AI systems are now in routine use in economics, medicine, engineering, and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, and traditional strategy games like computer chess and other video games. 

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence is exhibited by an artificial entity, a system is generally assumed to be a computer. It includes various advanced systems such as Neural networks, Fuzzy Systems and Evolutionary computation. AI is used in typical problems such as Pattern Recognition, Natural language processing and more. This system is working throughout the world as an artificial brain. 

AI researchers are free to use methods that are not observed in people or that involve much more computing than people can do.

Definition of Artificial

The simple definition of artificial objects that are made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally. 

Definition of Intelligence

The simple definition of intelligence is a process of entails a set of skills of problem-solving, enabling to resolve genuine problems or difficulties that encounter and create an effective product must also entail the potential for finding or creating problems and thereby laying the groundwork for the acquisition of new knowledge. 

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is a branch of science that deals with helping machines find a solution to complex problems in a more human-like fashion. This generally involves borrowing characteristics from human intelligence and applying them as algorithms in a computer-friendly way. 

AI is mainly concerned with the popular mind with the robotics development, but also the main field of practical application has been as an embedded component in the areas of software development which require computational understandings and modelling such as finance and economics, data mining and physical science. 

History of AI

The intellectual roots of AI, and the concept of intelligent machines, may be found in Greek mythology.  After modern computers became available following World War II, it has become possible to create programs that perform difficult intellectual tasks. 

The first working AI programs were written in 1951 to run on the Ferranti Mark I machine of the University of Manchester (UK). 

The person who finally coined the term artificial intelligence and is regarded as the father of the AL is John McCarthy. 

From the 1990s until the turn of the century, AI has reached some incredible landmarks with the creation of intelligent agents. Intelligent agents use their surrounding environment to solve problems most efficiently and effectively. 

Goals of AI

The deduction, reasoning and problem-solving:- The search for more efficient problem-solving algorithms is a high priority for AI research.

Knowledge representation:- Knowledge representation and knowledge engineering are central to AI research.

Planning: - Intelligent agents must be able to set goals and achieve them.

Natural language processing: - Natural language processing gives machines the ability to read and understand the languages that humans speak.

Motion and manipulation: - The field of robotics is closely related to AI. Intelligence is required for robots to be able to handle such tasks as object manipulation and navigation.

Perception: - Machine perception is the ability to use input from sensors (such as cameras, microphones, sonar and others more exotic).

Social intelligence:- Emotion and social skills play two roles for an intelligent agent.

General intelligence:- Most researchers think that their work will eventually be incorporated into a machine with general intelligence (known as strong AI), combining all the skills above and exceeding human abilities at most or all of them.

 

CATEGORIES OF AI

AI divides roughly into two schools of thought: 

Conventional AI:-

Conventional AI mostly involves methods now classified as machine learning, characterized by formalism and statistical analysis. This is also known as symbolic AI, logical AI, neat AI and Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence (GOFAI).

Computational Intelligence (CI) :-

Computational Intelligence involves iterative development or learning (e.g. parameter tuning e.g. in connectionist systems). Learning is based on empirical data and is associated with non-symbolic AI, scruffy AI and soft computing. 

Typical problems to which AI methods are applied:-

• Pattern recognition
• Optical character recognition
• Handwriting recognition
• Speech recognition
• Face recognition
• Natural language processing, Translation and Chatterbots
• Non-linear control and Robotics
• Computer vision, Virtual reality and Image processing
• Game theory and strategic planning

Other fields in which AI methods are implemented:-

Automation:- Automation is the use of machines, control systems and information technologies to optimize productivity in the production of goods and delivery of services.

Cybernetics:- Cybernetics in some ways is like the science of organisation, with special emphasis on the dynamic nature of the system being organised.

Hybrid intelligent system :- Hybridization of different intelligent systems is an innovative approach to constructing computationally intelligent systems consisting of an artificial neural network, approximate reasoning and derivative-free optimization methods.

Intelligent agent:- In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent (IA) is an autonomous entity which observes through sensors and acts upon an environment using actuators (i.e. it is an agent) and directs its activity towards achieving goals.

Intelligent control:- Intelligent Control or self-organising/learning control is a new emerging discipline that is designed to deal with problems. Rather than being model based, it is experientially based.

Automated reasoning:-The study of automated reasoning helps produce software that allows computers to reason completely, or nearly completely, automatically. Although automated reasoning is considered a sub-field of artificial intelligence, it also has connections with theoretical computer science and even philosophy.

Data mining:- Data mining (the analysis step of the "Knowledge Discovery in Databases" process, or KDD).  The overall goal of the data mining process is to extract information from a data set and transform it into an understandable structure for further use.

Behaviour-based robotics:- Behavior-based robotics is a branch of robotics that bridges artificial intelligence (AI), engineering and cognitive science. 

Developmental robotics:- Developmental Robotics (DevRob), sometimes called epigenetic robotics, is a methodology that uses metaphors from neural development and developmental psychology to develop the mind for autonomous robots.

Evolutionary robotics:- Evolutionary robotics (ER) is a methodology that uses evolutionary computation to develop controllers for autonomous robots.

Chatbot:- Chatterbot, a chatter robot is a type of conversational agent, a computer program designed to simulate an intelligent conversation with one or more human users via auditory or textual methods.

Knowledge Representation:- Knowledge representation (KR) is an area of artificial intelligence research aimed at representing knowledge in symbols to facilitate inferencing from those knowledge elements, creating new elements of knowledge.

Applications of AI

Artificial intelligence has been used in a wide range of fields including medical diagnosis, stock trading, robot control, law, scientific discovery and toys. 

Future scope of AI

• In the next 10 years, technologies in narrow fields such as speech recognition will continue to improve and will reach human levels.
• In 10 years, AI will be able to communicate with humans in unstructured English using text or voice.
• Will recreate some parts of the human (animal) brain in silicon. There are two major projects aiming for human brain stimulation, CCortex and IBM Blue Brain.
• There will be an increasing number of practical applications based on digitally recreated aspects of human intelligence, such as cognition, perception, rehearsal learning, or learning by repetitive practice.
• The development of meaningful artificial intelligence will require that machines acquire some variant of human consciousness.
• Systems that can demonstrate conclusively that they possess self-awareness, language skills, and deep knowledge about the world around them.
•  However, the field of artificial consciousness remains in its infancy.
• The early years of the 21st century should see dramatic strides forward in this area. 

Conclusion

AI systems are now in routine use in various fields such as economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, traditional strategy games etc. 

AI is an exciting and rewarding discipline.  AI is branch of  computer  science  that  is  concerned  with  the  automation  of  intelligent  behaviour.  The revised definition of  AI  is  - AI  is  the  study  of  mechanisms  underlying  intelligent  behaviour  through  the  construction  and  evaluation  of  artefacts  that  attempt  to  enact  those  mechanisms. So, it is concluded that it works as an artificial human brain which has an unbelievable artificial thinking power.

Best Food Business Ideas for 2022

Food is one thing that will never go out of style as everybody needs to eat, several times a day. That is why starting a business centered on food can be a truly rewarding enterprise.  

Here are examples of best food business ideas to consider.

Meal Planning

Similar to the dietician, a professional meal planner helps people to eat healthily over a set period. This works especially well for people on a diet who are trying to lose weight as the planned schedule for their meals can help eliminate extra snacking and unhealthy impulse eating.

Fitness Food Prep

Another excellent business idea is a combination of a meal planner and nutrition coach. Preparing food in advance for the likes of athletes and bodybuilders is something of a niche market. And you would need to have potential clients lined up in advance, but if you are already a part of the health and fitness world with contacts at gyms and fitness centers, there is definitely an opportunity to start a food prep business.

Organic Food Shop

 There has been a huge surge in the popularity of organic food in recent years, so an organic food shop could be the perfect food business idea for you.

While supermarkets and chain stores sometimes have small organic food sections or offer a few such items on their shelves, a store dedicated to such products will always be more attractive to shoppers seeking organic groceries.

Berry, Apple, Pumpkin, etc. Picking Farm

As a farmer with any of these crops, you can create different business plans. First, you can distribute your harvest to restaurants, farmers’ markets or other food-related businesses. Additionally, you can also have people come to your farm and pick the crops themselves. This is especially profitable with seasonal events such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and others.

Cake Decorating Classes

If you want to supplement the income of your cake shop, one of the best ways of doing it is by offering cake decorating classes. These classes are inexpensive for you to conduct and very popular for foodies who want to learn one more trick of the trade.

Food Kiosks

Whether it is an outdoor mall, sports venue, park or other locations where there are a large group of people, food kiosks are a must. If you get the right location with the right food, you will be guaranteed to get customers. It can be as simple as selling cold water and drinks or food.

Gourmet Popcorn

Popcorn is one of the most popular snacks around, and they are healthy to boot (if you cut out the butter). But with gourmet popcorn, you can create a wide range of flavours and colours to make them even more popular. You can start the business at home and grow your customers or open up a shop. This is one of the more affordable food businesses you can start right away.

Hot Sauce

You have probably seen a hot sauce challenge on YouTube. The show has celebrities eating increasingly hot chicken/vegan wings. And some of the hot sauces they use are unique brands using different peppers and herbs. This is another business you can start in your home.

Ready-Made Meals

People want to eat good food, but their busy schedules do not allow them to cook the food they want to eat. By making meals that are ready to eat, you can quickly establish a large customer base. This can eventually lead to a restaurant and other business options.

Dietary Foods for Patients

There are many patients who have strict dietary requirements. If you are a cook, you can get together with a dietician and start a business specifically designed to address this group.

Pop-Up Restaurant

If you are looking to gauge how people will respond to your food, you can open pop-up restaurants. If all goes well, you can decide on a location and go for it. However, if you want to just open pop-up restaurants with different themes and menus, you can also do that.

Spice Retail

Just like the salt and herb idea, spices are also a great way to start a business in your home and grow. Granted the spice aisle in supermarkets are formidable. Introduce fresh spices to your market, and it won’t be long before you start grabbing customers from everywhere.

Tea Retail

Coffee shops are a dime a dozen, and they also offer tea in most places. But if you specialize in just tea from around the world, you will have a good business model. Since this will be a specialized shop, you have to find the right location as well as have a strong online presence to ensure the long-term viability of the business.

Water

There are many types of water being sold in the market. The bad news is you cannot find them all in one place. As people continue to choose high-quality water, having a business solely dedicated to water and water paraphernalia is not that absurd. There is a great opportunity there.

Canning Service

Canning fresh foods is a great business for people who want to preserve fruits, vegetables and even meats. The problem is the process is labour-intensive. If you can provide a service for canning the foods people want to preserve, you can have a great business. It may be seasonal depending on what people want to can, but it can also go on year-round with other products.

Jerky Making

Jerky meat is a very popular source of quick and readily available source of protein for health-conscious people. Even though it has been around forever, a new customer base is discovering this food.

Online Cooking

School One of the greatest features of the internet is you can be anywhere and provide a service. If you are a professional cook, you can start your own online cooking school. With this technology, you can start offering personal one-on-one classes or to multiple people at the same time. Best of all you can do it from the comfort of your own home or restaurant if you have one.

Catering Equipment Rental

There are thousands of catering gigs taking place every week across the country, and not all of them have their own equipment. This is a specialized segment of the food industry, but if you make inroads, it can be very lucrative. At the same time, you can also expand to the supply side of the food caterers’ needs.

Menu, Food or Nutrition Consultant

As a consultant, you can address restaurants, chefs, nutritionists and organizations with food services such as schools. With so many dietary requirements in today’s nutritional spectrum, being a consultant is an invaluable asset. This is a business that requires certifications and degrees, but with the right credentials, it can be a strong business model.

Energy Drink Business

Energy drinks are everywhere, but they leave much to be desired when it comes to health. The process can be expensive initially, but if you create your own natural energy drink, and believe you have the best product the payoff can be huge.

Romantic Catering

There are many romantic special occasions, and if you can plan the food side of said occasions you can have a good business. This is a great part-time business. Whether you are a professional cook, an enthusiastic amateur or just starting, this is a great way to get into the food industry. It is also a sold way to build a customer base for any future food-related business.

Vending Machines

Vending machines run the gamut. You can put everything from candies to sodas, fruits, sandwiches, soups, nuts, and much more. If you find the right location and differentiate your machines with quality sandwiches, soups and other items, you will have a great business. The key to this business is location, but once you have that you can grow fast.

Biscuit Making

Biscuit-making can be a fulfilling business that comes with little startup capital. Despite mass-produced automated biscuits companies in the market, many consumers prefer fresh biscuits from a local bakery. The biscuit-making business has a huge potential market as biscuits are almost consumed in every home on a daily basis. The key to your success is packaging, flavours and of course health-conscious ingredients.

Catering

Catering can be a profitable business provided you know your meals and have a knack for pleasing people. With a moderate startup capital investment, you can start your business by catering to friends and family. However, it requires a solid understanding of every detail related to this business. One of the biggest reasons caterers fail is because they cannot manage everything. As an owner, you have to know everything.

Coffee Sales

Can you imagine your office without coffee? From boosting productivity in the workforce to promoting a relaxed environment as well as health benefits, coffee is truly king. More than two-thirds consume coffee every day. With a customer base of more than 200 million people, this is always a great business. But with so much competition, you have to find a way to differentiate yourself. Do that and you are guaranteed to have customers.

Fast Food

The competitive advantage a fast-food business has is its ability to provide affordable food to customers in as little time as possible. Fast food establishments come in all shapes and sizes from drive-thrust to traditional sit-down meals.