Senior CHI — the CHI 99 development consortium

As is well known, the number of older adults within developed countries is increasing faster than their younger counterparts. By the year 2000, 35 million Americans will be older than 65 years of age. By 2010, this will increase to 39.7 million [ 1,2]. Such a change in demographics brings with it unique challenges and opportunities for both the public and private sectors. Human factors andergonomics have played, and can continue to play, a major role in meeting the challenge of designing for this community of users, Recent research shows that 25% of seniors with computers are online and 70% are using their computers daily [3]. This is the fastest growing group on Internet. To design effective systems and training programs in support of age-related performance issues, we must answer fundamental questions concerning older users and the ways in which they approach and use computing technology. What myths and stereotypes about older users can we dispel? What non-obvious truths about older users can we uncover?