Describe the essential applications and computing activities of elderly users.

1. Older Adults and Computer Usage:
Common Activities and Essential Applications
Melissa Wong, Kristal Chan, Niti Madhugiri, Shengdong Zhao
NUS-HCI Lab, Computer Science
National University of Singapore

2. Background: Aging Society
World Singapore
Age 65+ in Singapore
2000 : 7%
2030 : 19%

3. Computers and older adults
• Global aging population changed the landscape
of information technology industry
– Existing older adults increasingly expose to IT
• Older adults are now the fastest growing population of
computer buyers and Internet users 1, 2
– As we grow up, future older adults will become IT
savvy
1. Becker, S. A. (2005). E-Government usability for older adults. Communications of the ACM, 48(2), 102–104.
2. Hart, T., Chaparro, B., & Halcomb, C. (2008). Evaluating websites for older adults: Adherence to senior-friendly
guidelines and end-user performance. Behaviour & Information Technology, 27(3), 191–199.

4. Motivations
• Older adults have different needs and concerns
• Current interfaces which are mostly designed for
younger users and are too complex for older
adults 1
• Majority of the functionalities are not needed or
used
1. Massimi, M., R.M. Baecker, and M. Wu, Using participatory activities with seniors to critique, build,
and evaluate mobile phones. ACM SIGACCESS 2007, ACM: 155-162

5. Motivation
• Question:
Simple Interface What essential
applications and
for older adults functionalities should it
??? support?
• Not much has been discussed about the use of
specific applications for activities that they do 1
1. Goodman, J.,Syme, A., Eisma, R. (2003). Older adults’ use of computers: A survey. HCI Sept 2003,
Bath, Uk.

6. We are interested to find out the essential
needs of older adults in computer usage, and
how such needs are reflected in the type of
computing activities carried out as
well as the most common computer
applications being used.

7. Interview
Participants
• 8 computer literate participants (5 male, 3
female, age range 51-73, M: 64.5, SD: 7.89)
Format
• Semi-structured interview
• Questions covered:
– Experience with learning and using of computers
– Type of computing activities and motivations such
activities

8. Results
Computer usage
Emails
Online banking
Internet search
Document processing
Connecting with family/friends
Online reservations and ticketing
Entertainment

9. Analysis
Information seeking
• Internet search
• Browsers
• News

10. Analysis
Information seeking Communication
• Internet search • Email
• Browsers • Video calls
• News • Social networking sites

11. Analysis
Information seeking Communication
• Internet search • Email
• Browsers • Video calls
• News • Social networking sites
Productivity
• Microsoft Office
• Online transactions
• Photo management

12. Analysis
Information seeking Communication
• Internet search • Email
• Browsers • Video calls
• News • Social networking sites
Productivity Entertainment
• Microsoft Office • Video channels
• Online transactions • Games
• Photo management

13. Take-away & Implications
• The essential interface for older adults should probably
only include the above functionalities
• Make the interface consistent
– Changes made to interfaces should be handled carefully as older
adults may not adapt effectively

14. Q&A
For more information
• http://hci.comp.nus.edu.sg
• http://www.shengdongzhao.com/shen-
publications/