When we talk about older people in HCI, who are we talking about? Towards a ‘turn to community’ in the design of technologies for a growing ageing population

Abstract

This paper addresses a number of challenges HCI designers and researchers deal with when designing digital technologies for older people. We conducted a 5-year research-through-design study, which combined ethnography, participatory design and real-life evaluation, to explore the design and use of technologies aimed to enhance the social life of older people. The paper explores widespread assumptions about the social category of older people and the meaning of technologies for them. This paper argues that assuming that (i) older people have unique needs and interests that set them apart from other user groups and (ii) the meaning of technologies remains unaltered on completion of co-design activities are both problematic, because they do not consider carefully enough the sociocultural contexts in which older people interact and engage in their daily lives. The paper posits that the meaning of technologies for older people and their own identities as individuals of a certain age are shaped within situated communities. Thus, technologies designed 'for older people' should be designed to meet situated and dynamic needs/interests of the communities (and not only of care) to which they belong. We draw upon our findings and other situated epistemological discourses in HCI to introduce a different perspective, a turn to community, in the design of technologies for an ever-increasing ageing population.

Playability and Player Experience in Digital Games for Elderly: A Systematic Literature Review

“…However, there is no consensus on its characteristics; since researchers have recognized that older people are a very heterogeneous set of users in regards to their experiences, skills, health status, and abilities. Moreover, other previous studies have suggested that a high amount of HCI research presents older adults as a homogeneous category, that is, a set of users with common needs, abilities, and interests [ 46 ].…”

“…Second, the heterogeneous vision, which delivers a more realistic picture of older people, assumes that these people would have a categorization that is easier to define. For example, some studies specified adulthood as the relevant criterion for characterization, although others focused on personal skills or the different transitions experienced in the stages of their lives [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Analysis of eAGRI Web Portal Ergonomics And Presentation of Information in Terms of the General Public

“…aged 60 and over (10.9%). Studies conducted by for example Shamim et al (2016) and Righi et al (2017) show that there the age was found to be significant for visual appeal, comprehensiveness, intuitiveness, and pre-knowledge requirement but there is also no need to focus on design for older people but focus on the useful and also usable design for an average user. And not only in the way of ergonomics, usability and design, but also in the social role.…”

Passenger Communication System for Next-Generation Self-Driving Cars: A Buddy

“…10. To set up experiments, the speed of AVs randomly set to [2][3][4]. Where, each test has been executed 5 times and saved in the log file…”

“…Extensive research has been done in HCI to make systems autonomous. Valeria et al [2] have evaluated the factors played by psychology in designing systems. The role of HCI is vast and applies to many unique types of systems.…”