## 4 Smart Home Connectivity for New Elders
### Psychological Connectivity
#### 4.2.4 Meaning Connectivity  
The meaning of life makes people feel a presence greater than the ego. Specifically, it is a kind of mind in which we are willing to give [72]. According to [PERSON], he regards this meaning as the purpose of life [73]. Most of these purposes are altruistic, in other words, the ultimate meaning of our lives, returning to its essence, will be related to helping others. For the elderly, when they have lost their dedication to work after retirement, they will lose their sense of direction and purpose of life. Hence, a smart home could try to help them gain these lost things again. Some considerations include the following four aspects:  
* **Grandchildren babysitting:** In China, after retirement, the majority of elderly people will help their children to take care of their grandchildren which can help the elderly to increase their sense of belonging and value. Additionally, it can serve as an emotional dependence for the elderly after retiring. Therefore, we can launch some devices in smart homes to promote the interaction between the elderly and their grandchildren, such as early childhood education products, or insert some equipment to help them release the babysitting burden and improve the efficiency to do some relevant housework.
* **Peers supporting:** On one hand, the aging problem in China is becoming increasingly serious and there are insufficient staff and manpower in the pension industry. On the other hand, many retired elders are actually very healthy, they not only do not need any additional help but also have the ability to give support to their peers. Therefore, the smart home could mobilize these resources and promote the mechanism of interactive assistance between elderly people. Compared with intergenerational barriers, it is much easier for elderly adults to understand their peers' needs and support each other better.
* **Uncompleted wishes fulfillment:** After retirement, the elderly no longer have the burden and limitation of works, they have time and money to realize their wishes which they could not when they were young. They can try to find new goals and meaning for life, like developing their hobbies and mastering new skills and knowledge that they are interested in. A smart home can provide functions and services to satisfy their needs in these aspects, such as inserting online platforms and equipment to help the elderly learning new knowledge and skills, using virtual reality technology to help them experience and explore the outside world, etc.
* **Re-employment and social contribution:** Government and society should encourage elderly people to do start-ups, re-employment, freelance, part-time jobs, and volunteer activities and provide them with corresponding platforms and opportunities to integrate into society again. Because of the flourishing development of artificial intelligence and the internet industry, elderly people can do plenty of freelance and part-time jobs online while staying at home. For example,the experience and knowledge of the elderly can be shared with society and young groups via online channels to bring more positive energy to the society, realize their own value and win the respect of others. Additionally, a considerable number of old people in China have the specialties and skills of traditional culture and art, so that we can make them the communicators of traditional culture and volunteers of cultural activities. Therefore, in a smart home, service, products, and platforms which could help to realize the re-employment and social contribution for the elderly can be considered.