Performance and Pleasure: Exploring the Perceived Usefulness and Appeal of Physical Activity Data Visualizations with Older Adults

Wearable activity trackers hold the promise of making older adults aware of their levels of physical activity (PA), encouraging them to remain or become physically active. However, little is known about older adults’ preferences regarding data visualizations of PA, which is of concern as many of the currently implemented visualizations strongly emphasize performance. In our work, we present findings from a study (N = 44) in which we combined semi-structured interviews and an online survey to explore different approaches towards visualizing PA data for older adults. Through thematic analysis and statistical analysis, we highlight that visualizations’ perceived usefulness and appeal is individual and mediated by the lived experiences of late life, and that the potential of performance and pleasure can be leveraged to be complementary. On this basis, we discuss design opportunities for visualizations of PA data specifically addressing the needs of older adults from the perspective of PA in late life.