New Research Improves Digital Accessibility for Older Adults

From smart fridges to smart homes to Siri and Alexa, it seems that every household item is now “smart”. Yet not everyone thrives in this “smart” world. For older adults, navigating an increasingly digital world can be a struggle.

Product designers may not realize how challenging technologies can be as we grow older. As we age, older adults tend to experience a decline in vision, hearing, short term memory and tactile movement control. Head explains each of these can add up to challenges in navigating websites, apps and accessing customer service. This is compounded by the fact that designers tend to design for users like them and rarely conduct usability assessments on older adults.

In Canada, older adults are the fastest growing segment of our population. But they are being left behind in what is called the digital divide – the gap between those that have access to technology and those that do not.

COVID accelerated how we use technology for learning, working, shopping, and socializing.

She says there has been a push towards advancing technology, but that advancement is excluding individuals and large groups within our local, national and global societies.

Head’s research has found that older adults, people in different socioeconomic situations, and those living in rural settings tend to be excluded and marginalized because they may not have access to technology, have barriers to using technology, or have limited Internet access. According to Statistics Canada, 63 per cent of Canadians aged 65 or older are either non-users or basic users of the Internet and digital technologies.

At the MDTRC they are looking at how this very rapidly changing world of technology impacts us.

Recently, researchers developed a new mobile user experience lab (MUXL) – a one-of-a-kind facility that can go directly into the community and reach marginalized populations, helping researchers understand how those with special needs, older adults, new immigrants, and people with disabilities interact with technology.

Using physical and mental clues to improve technology for older adults

The MDTRC approaches research from a multidisciplinary perspective – combining business with psychology, neuroscience and behaviour.

Head says they use traditional behavioural tools such as surveys, focus groups and interviews to gain insight into a participant’s experience, but also incorporates neurophysiological tools to help researchers gain a deeper, richer understanding of how we interact with technology. Monitoring eye movements, brain activities, facial expressions, and other clues from our body provide unbiased insights into our experiences with technology.

For example, electroencephalogram or EEG measures brain activity and can tell researchers if a person is paying attention, distracted, engaged or mentally exhausted.

Advanced facial recognition software that tracks muscle movement in the face provides clues into how a person is feeling.

All this data is synchronized with information from the body’s physical signs – heart rate, perspiration, respiration – to better understand what is really happening with that individual.

But how does collecting this information help a person who is frustrated with technology?

Researchers evaluate the data to identify areas where people struggled using the technology. From there, Head and researchers at MDTRC are able to provide concrete design guidelines to help make products and services more accessible. For marginalized individuals, it means digital inclusion and improved access to services and products.

“We don’t tend to design our technology to facilitate access for older adults or for people that might have different types of requirements,” she explains.

Milena Head

Director, McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre
Professor, Information Systems

Dr. Milena Head is a Professor of Information Systems at DeGroote, Acting Director, McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre the Wayne C. Fox Chair in Business Innovation and Academic Director of the EMBA program at the DeGroote School of Business. She specializes in electronic business (eBusiness) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI), having published over 100 papers in academic journals, books and conferences. Her research interests include trust, privacy and adoption of electronic commerce and new technologies; interface design; and cross-cultural, gender and age issues related to technology use. She also examines the potential negative impacts of technology, including identity theft, techno-stress and cyber-bullying. Milena has received numerous teaching and research awards and is frequently called upon by the media and by community groups to speak about her research.