While aging can bring positive life changes, such as retirement and the freedom to spend more time on hobbies, travel, and visiting family, it also presents unique challenges. Ooma presents a safety guide for seniors, highlighting 30 tips to help them age safely, stay connected, and maintain independence. Instead of a simple list of helpful gadgets, the team created a roadmap to help seniors navigate a rapidly changing world with confidence.

Click below to zoom.

One of the most crucial sections focuses on digital safety and online scam protection. Seniors can use the Internet to learn new things and connect with others, but it’s also full of risks and schemes where criminals prey on uninformed elders. The article explains how to avoid scams with password managers and multi-factor authentication. These tips on strong password creation and extra protection can drastically lower the risk of identity theft and financial loss due to scams.

The following section focuses on physical safety and emergency response. While most of us know to call “911” in an emergency, many of us are unaware of Enhanced 911 (E911), which automatically sends a senior’s address to responders. This is critical if the senior who placed the emergency call cannot speak. A medical ID displayed on a smartphone lock screen can help EMS workers begin treatment instantly and save more lives. Fall detection devices make good use of these services by automatically sharing location and calling for help. These affordable, simple tools can save a senior’s life.

Next, the chart moves on to home security. Smart security cameras and motion-activated systems don’t have to be complicated. They can help seniors reduce stress and increase their peace of mind. Smart doorbells and two-way audio allow them to communicate with visitors without having to go to the door. Environmental monitoring devices are essential for detecting poor air quality and dangerous temperature conditions. Practical advice and the article’s compassionate tone remind readers that safety offers seniors independence.

In that same spirit of independence, the article turns to accessibility. These include visual/hearing alerts, simpler phone interfaces, and medication reminder apps. These tools address health issues that affect all seniors, like hearing loss, vision changes, and memory challenges. These apps and aids will help seniors develop healthy daily routines, reduce frustration, navigate the world, and make the most of their lives.

Lastly, the guide addresses phone safety and scam calls. Seniors can use caller ID authentication and call blocking to reduce fraudulent calls. Unfortunately, seniors are often victims of these scams. While education is also essential for helping seniors navigate these calls, modern VoIP technology and other features make the process much easier. A caller’s sense of urgency can sway them, so these tools can help them avoid the calls altogether.

The team’s tips empower seniors and their loved ones, helping them prepare for the future. This list is a conversation starter to help families plan for independent seniors to live safely and healthily.

When you visit a mattress store or browse through mattress options online, there are a lot of choices that make us feel like we’re choosing from dozens of options from a wide variety of companies. But this choice is an illusion, as a handful of corporations actually own these brands and control large portions of the mattress and bedding industries. The team at NapLab breaks down ownership of the most recognizable mattress companies. Their work shows us that brand diversity is often a mask for a limited corporate structure.

Click below to zoom.

One of the biggest shareholders of the mattress industry is Somnigroup International. They used be called Tempur Sealy International, a name you probably recognize. What you might not realize is that this company owns brands like Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Stearns & Foster, Sherwood Bedding, and Sleepy’s. They also own the entire extensive Mattress Firm retail store network. This makes Somnigroup International a powerful driving force in mattress sales and distribution.

Another big player in the industry is Serta Simmons Bedding LLC (SSB). They own classic brand names like Simmons, Serta, Beautyrest, and Tuft & Needle. SSB has had its share of financial challenges, including filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, but it still continues to own a significant share of the American mattress market.

Not all these owners are giant manufacturers. Ashley Global Retail is best known for furniture, but it entered the mattress market when it acquired the Resident Home family of brands, which includes Nectar, Awara, Siena, DreamCloud, and Ashley Sleep. These options encompass both luxury and budget-friendly mattress brands.

3Z Brands is a key player in the direct-to-consumer mattress sales space. They own the brands Helix Sleep, Bear, Brooklyn Bedding, Leesa, and Nolah. These brands represent the share of shoppers who prefer buying a mattress online rather than dealing with retailers and sales representatives.

Saatva Inc. used to focus solely on selling luxury mattresses online, but in 2023, it merged with Bedding Industries of America. The merger added other brands to their roster, including Eclipse, Millbrook, Ernest Hemingway, and Eastman House, in addition to Saatva’s name brand of products.

We also see some international companies represented here. GoodMorning.com, formerly known as Novosbed, is a Canadian company that primarily sells to the U.S. market, encompassing the brands Octave, Juno, Douglas, and Logan & Cove.

The Flex Bedding Group is Spanish-owned and sells luxury and niche products to Americans, including the high-end brands Marshall Mattress, E.S. Kluft & Co., Kluft, Aireloom, and Vispring.

Understanding which companies own these mattress brands helps consumers make informed choices. It also helps us understand that brands might appear vastly different, but in reality, they’re under the same corporate umbrella, which influences everything from pricing to marketing to manufacturing.

This brand consolidation isn’t any different from many other industries, like beer and skincare, but it does raise consumer concerns about true choice and industry competition.

A new article from Ooma examines the facts surrounding Americans’ decision to abandon cable television and landline phones in favor of Internet-based and wireless alternatives. This study illustrates a changing landscape in how people connect with one another and consume media. The piece includes a colorful list of 30 key statistics that illustrate the technological revolutions and cultural shifts shaping the world of communications and entertainment.

Click below to zoom.

One of the most striking findings is the decline in landline phones. These were once a staple found in nearly every American home, but landlines are disappearing. By the end of 2024, only 1% of adults had a landline in their home. That’s 78.7% of adults and 86.9% of children living in a wireless-only household. They have cut the telephone cord and rely on cell service and Internet-based calls.

The article provides evidence that traditional cable TV is in trouble as well. As of 2025, 56 million households, or 45%, had cut the cord, meaning they no longer use cable, satellite, or traditional paid TV services. An additional 12% of American households are “cord-nevers,” meaning they’ve never had these services to begin with. That means over half of Americans don’t use cable.

Swaths of users are cutting the cable cord. 5.7 million cable subscribers canceled their TV services in 2024. Their main motivator was the cost of cable. 73% of cord-cutters said cable is too expensive to continue. Six of the nine major cable companies have increased their broadcast fees by 12.8% on average, which adds around $21.48 to monthly bills. Cord-cutters save about $1,000 each year by canceling cable and satellite services and sticking with broadband.

So, what replaced these cable services? Over half of Americans say they watch streaming services. 65% of these users say they’re very likely to continue using streaming services next year. The top streamer is Netflix. 72% of Americans say they’ve watched Netflix content, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 67%, then Hulu at 52%. Industry data reports that streaming surpassed cable and broadcast viewership in 2025.

This shift isn’t isolated to Ooma’s data alone. According to Nielsen’s media consumption report, streaming services accounted for 44.8% of total U.S. television usage. This surpassed combined broadcast and cable television viewing for the first time in 2025, clearly marking a definitive shift in viewer preferences toward digital platforms.

Taken together, these statistics show a clear trend toward Americans valuing the flexibility, cost savings, and on-demand access of streaming over traditional cable and communication systems. Landlines and cable are on their way to becoming relics of the past, replaced by modern wireless services and Internet streaming that better fit modern budgets and lifestyles. Advancing technology and better broadband access will likely continue to shape how households connect, entertain themselves, and make decisions about spending on phones and entertainment.