Smartphones, apps and older people's interests: from a generational perspective

Abstract

It is well-documented that ICT are designed mostly with young users in mind. In addition, most studies about smartphone use do not include older people or even consider age differences. Consequently, little is known about how to design smartphone apps taking older people's interests into account. We have used a mixed-method approach with an intergenerational perspective to approach this topic. First, we track the smartphone activities of 238 panelists. Second, we conduct an online survey (382 respondents). Third, we document the experiences of a group of older people in a smartphone learning club. We have found specific media consumption and communication patterns among older individuals: for example, at home they are more prone to jumping between devices for ergonomic reasons, thus, cross-device interactions are key for this group. We discuss the relevance of intergenerational studies in counterbalancing the spread of age stereotypes and identifying alternative adoption trends.