An ethnographical study of the accessibility barriers in the everyday interactions of older people with the web

Abstract

Older people experience many barriers when they access to the web. However, little is known about which barriers limit more (or less) their daily interactions. This paper presents some findings based on an ethnographical study of the everyday interactions of nearly 400 older people with the web over 3 years. Difficulties remembering steps, understanding terms and using the mouse are more severe than problems perceiving visual information, understanding icons and using the keyboard. This is largely explained by inclusion, independence and socialization, which are the three key components of reallife web use. This paper also shows that these aspects should be considered in other areas of web and ICT accessibility, as technophobia is not the only experience in the interactions of older people with the web, and both social relationships and life experiences beyond technologies need to be taken into account apart from age-related changes in abilities. These findings suggest that the current focus on compensating for age-related changes in functional abilities needs to be widened. Working towards making the web more accessible should not be divorced from real-life use. This paper discusses implications for web (and ICT) design, training and support.

Not For Me

“…Technologies designed for (and with) older adults often aim to improve people's lives in some way. Monitoring and assistive devices, for example, can be used to help older adults maintain their independence [22], and there is now a growing interest in the design and use of technologies to improve the social lives of older adults, especially for those considered to be socially isolated ( [1,13], [39]). This brings with it responsibilities for researchers to be sensitive to the diverse needs and experiences of older adults and the possible disruption new social technologies might create for people who are considered vulnerable.…”

Older adults and mobile technology: Factors that enhance and inhibit utilization in the context of behavioral health

“…For example, a homebound, disabled person can use technology to obtain information via the internet [36]. Older adults find modern technology crucial for connecting with younger generations [41,50,96,100,101]. While connection is key, some older adults report text messaging was also helpful in keeping family out of the house and "out of their business" [92].…”

Older people’s production and appropriation of digital videos: an ethnographic study

“…Namely, our results can encourage interaction designers and researchers to pay special attention to age-related changes in cognition, especially those concerned with crystallized / fluid intelligence and selective attention (Czaja and Lee 2007). At present, cognitive-related issues are not effectively solved by either design / technology or practices (e.g., note-taking) that older people can develop by themselves to deal with these issues (Sayago & Blat, 2011).…”

“…Ethnography is also a key element in the evolution of paradigms (or waves) of HCI research (Bødker 2006). Yet, most studies with older people conducted within HCI thus far have adopted a survey or a laboratory-oriented approach (Sayago and Blat 2011).…”