Bridging the Gap: Digital Technology & Seniors
Value Sensitive Design
Overview
In this project, we investigated the problem of digital illiteracy present in older generations. Researching multiple areas through conceptual, empirical and technical investigation methods, we explored value sensitive design practices to guide our research and analysis.
DURATION
May - June 2022 | 4 weeks
CONTRIBUTORS
Bijou Kim
Gloria Hu
Digital Literacy is defined as “the ability to understand and to use information from a variety of digital sources” (Gilster, 1997).
The Problem
The rapid advancement of technology over the past few decades have contributed to a significant gap in digital literacy between generations. Studies have shown that many older generations struggle to use digital technologies and effectively integrate it into their daily lives.
Studies emphasize that this problem goes beyond the conflict of accessibility. Many social groups fall behind in adopting these technologies– not because they can’t afford a computer or have access to these devices, but because they lack the necessary skills to utilize them and perform essential tasks (Schreurs et. al, 2017).
Digital Literacy is...
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🧠 A collection of many different skills.
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🏃♀️ An essential tool to perform daily tasks efficiently.
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✨ An extremely valuable skill that significantly changes the course of an individual’s daily life.
Project Goals
In this project, we investigate the problem space in a value-sensitive approach to explore how we can encourage older audiences to improve their digital literacy and help them feel more digitally connected to society. The questions we raise in this report is, how can we increase older adults’ exposure to different digital tools and what kind of opportunities can we provide for them to support bridging the gap?
Conceptual Investigation
Stakeholder Analysis
The direct stakeholders of this design investigation include older adults over the age of 65, non-english speaking adults, families and friends of older adults, IT companies, and the employers & employees of older adults. We identified an especially vulnerable group to be those with limited English speaking skills.
The indirect stakeholders include product design teams of digital technologies, product marketing teams, and technology or e-commerce retailers. Harms and benefits are listed in the diagram below.
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Literacy Frameworks
For the second part of our conceptual investigation, we analyzed a study that focuses on factors that affect digital literacy, such as prior experiences, habits, and learning styles. The study identified a significant difference in communication styles and technological preferences between older and younger generations, suggesting a high level of variability in experiences (Schreurs et. al, 2017). We looked into five different literacy frameworks that contribute to how learners learn in a digital environment.
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Photo-Visual Literacy: The ability to understand visual images effectively with the skills of visual memory and strong intuitive-associative thinking
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Reproduction Literacy: The ability to recycle ideas and information through multi-dimensional thinking.
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Branching Literacy: The ability to construct knowledge from large quantities of sources, often practicing non-linear thinking.
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Information Literacy: The ability to find, evaluate and use information for necessary tasks in an effective way, including being educated on the credibility of the content.
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Socio-Emotional Literacy: The ability to understand and manage emotions in a digital environment and make responsible decisions (e.g., identifying hoaxes on the internet or any vulnerable situations).
These foundational frameworks give us a better understanding of digital literacy by breaking it down into multiple components. This is crucial step in analyzing the problem at hand, prior to designing a possible solution.
Empirical Investigation
Social Context
We began our empirical investigation by researching the social context of our problem space. An interesting idea we found during the research was the media depiction of older adults and digital literacy. The media has gradually produced a comedic portrayal of their inability to utilize digital technologies; for example, grandchildren being named as “tech-support figures” and ridiculing grandparents who struggle to function a webcam (Schreurs et. al, 2017). These satirical depictions maintain the discourse of the digital illiteracy present in older adults in today’s society.
User Interviews
We conducted four user interviews with our target audience of older adults. Some of the key insights were the following:
Older adults lack thorough understandings of essential functions on mobile phones.
Older adults struggle to effectively utilize preference settings & customizability.
The lack of moral support and encouragement directly affected the learning in a digital environment.
Technical Investigation
Retrospective Approach
For our technical investigation, we deep-dived into an existing product called GrandPad. GrandPad is a tablet designed for seniors that omits any complicated features present in today’s digital devices. Created with simple design, GrandPad makes it easy for older adults to connect with their loved ones and execute daily tasks.
The key features of GrandPad include the software & unique apps, a private family network, and built in internet connection & service.
Pros
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Simple device and simple instruction— eliminates complicated and risky features
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Personalized support for user through a special agent— 1:1 help and support
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Assists limited English speakers— language settings
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Promotes connectivity— connects users to families and increased communication between loved ones
Cons
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Too simple— limits users within walls of exploring technology
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Costly— nearly $700 a year
Discussion
Through these investigations, we have presented the problem of the generational gap in digital literacy and the effects of this difference. We have explored the factors that contribute to this gray area and found that differences in habits, preferences, and experiences between the generations play a significant role in this gap. The comical media depiction of this target audience is detrimental and perpetuates the significant gap in digital literacy between older adults and tech-savvy younger generations.
From our investigations, we have found that step-by-step instructions, thorough learning, personalized experiences are essential to seniors when learning in digital spaces. By building a welcoming environment through family encouragement and recognition, seniors will be more inspired and motivated to improve their digital literacy skills. Encouragement, open-mindedness and accessibility to learning resources are also key factors to improving digital literacy in older adults. Our future implications and next-steps focus on using this research to design a solution building upon existing products or new ideas to seniors feel more digitally connected. We hope to see its impact on introducing efficiency into their daily lives and enhancing interaction between families and loved ones.
✨ Retrospective ✨
Overall, this project was very fulfilling as it was a topic that my partner and I were both extremely passionate about. It was interesting to see three different investigations intersect to uncover meaningful and thorough insights about our users. I learned the process of value-sensitive design and how it really emphasizes the importance of understanding the user and the context before diving into a design process. This experience taught me how to analyze the values of our stakeholders and gain valuable knowledge about the problem space in a thorough and comprehensive manner.