High touch and personal versus high tech and impersonal? Or both.

How will we choose to care for loved ones who need it in the future? New high-tech systems ranging from “granny cams” to sensors and motion detectors are entering the long-term care giving market. As a society, we still have to figure out when and how to use them. What happened to family and friends? Will the “Cats in the Cradle” lives Harry Chapin sang about reap huge consequences?

Millions of elderly people live alone and isolated, lacking a support network and far from family or others who might watch over them.

One care option emerging is using technology to help someone at a distance tell how their loved one is doing. Does this sound like an Alfred Hitchcock or “Twilight Zone” episode to you? It gives me the chills, considering these new developments in the marketplace.

A passive monitoring system does not require the elderly person to do anything. Several passive systems being used in the homes of elderly individuals were described in April 2004 at the annual joint conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging. The systems have potential benefits and pitfalls.

Some passive systems have cameras at the older person’s home that allow someone somewhere else to look in. It reminds me of a security system placed at a business or home. Have elderly people been reduced to someone we watch on a camera from a distance? What about daily tender loving care from family?

Others use sensors that can detect motion to alert others if the elderly person is not eating, has not taken their medication or has fallen. These systems may be used to watch over elderly people who might not realize they need help, such as someone with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. They can detect falls or other problems as they happen or monitor third parties such as home health aides and other home caregivers.

As great as technology is, there is another alternative. Consider meeting with a financial adviser specializing in long-term care and retirement planning. He or she can empower your family to reach desired outcomes in life. You proactively can have a life of design, not a life by default. Spend time with your family, friends and loved ones. Nurture a family and friend network. What you sow into others lives today will reap huge dividends later. You can live the best life possible when you plan ahead.

Bob Land is a Rocky Mount representative of Landmark Financial Services LLC.