Such data however, can hide the trend that older people are the fastest growing segment of the population using the Internet. At present, it is difficult to provide designers with the necessary guidance to accurately represent the technology knowledge base of older and younger adults.Ī 2008 survey of American adults by the Pew Internet and American Life Project revealed that 89 percent of 18–29 year-olds reported Internet use, compared to only 33 percent of adults 65 and older ( Pew Internet and American Life Project 2008). This information about prior knowledge will help designers to select and arrange elements on new technologies with which the user is already familiar. The recent international standard about the design of everyday technologies (ISO 20282-1 International Standards Organization 2006) specified a design requirement for “knowledge of comparable machines”. A systematic understanding of the technology experience of younger and older adults can provide insights into the knowledge that might be available to these user groups when faced with novel technologies. Technology adoption is influenced by various factors, such as relative advantage of the technology (compared to the previous method of accomplishing the activity) and degree to which the innovation is compatible with one’s values, experiences, and needs ( Rogers 2003). However, little is known about the depth and breadth of technology use by older adults or whether it differs from younger adults’ usage patterns. Many older adults use technologies widely, including personal computers and the Internet. However, more and more research makes clear that this is a misperception and an overstatement ( O’Hanlon, Bond, Knapp, and Carragher 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project 2004, 2009). There is a common misperception that people over a certain age (e.g., 65) tend to be less open or perhaps even averse to adopting new technologies for everyday tasks. Computer technology is prevalent in many domains beyond personal computers and the Internet, such as communication, financial transactions, home management, and health care. Technology interactions have the potential to ease the performance of tasks and sometimes to enable people to accomplish activities they might not otherwise be able to do on their own (see Charness, Fox, and Mitchum, in press, for a review).
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