Older Adults and Digital Technologies

This book aims to reflect critically on a great deal of HCI research conducted with or concerned about older adults and aging with the goal of sparking future development of the field. To that end, the book offers a critical literature review, which is informed by more than a decade of the author's own empirical work, of 30 years of research in HCI and related areas, including STS, sociology, the psychology of aging, and gerontology. Four key aspects are addressed: (1) conceptualization of older adults, aging, and technology, (2) progress in knowledge generation in HCI and aging, (3) conducting research methods with older adults, and (4) designing technologies for aging. To accomplish this, the book starts by considering the diversity and intersectionality of the older adult population of technology users and its implications for effectively applying HCI research methodologies. It critiques the tendency within HCI studies of solely conceptualizing aging as a problem, one that has a technological solution, and preoccupation with user deficits related to health and age-related declines in functional abilities. The book proposes a significant need for a horizontal body of knowledge in the field that is stymied by individuated development practices that start from scratch with their considerations of the older adult population for each new technology or application. This book calls on researchers to consider novel techniques without overlooking the need to deepen and widen a transversal knowledge base that helps the field progress further and produce technologies that ultimately better serve all users.

Presents a reflective synthesis of the past three decades of research on older adults and digital technologies in HCI Examines key concepts of age and aging and explores their framing within HCI research and practice Explains how the HCI field will benefit from building a horizontal body of knowledge about older adult users Seeks to foster a critical dialogue in the community and shape future developments in older-adult HCI research

Autorentext

Sergio Sayago is an Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in Computer Science at the Universitat de Lleida (Spain). He is passionate about exploring the human side of digital technologies. His interdisciplinary research has spanned web accessibility, usability, and e-learning, with a strong focus since 2010 on older-adult HCI. Before joining UdL, Sergio held postdoctoral positions at the University of Dundee (Scotland, 2010–2012) under a Beatriu de Pinós fellowship and at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain, 2012–2014) with an Alliance 4 Universities fellowship. He later served as a visiting lecturer and researcher at the University of Lleida (2014–2016) and the University of Barcelona (2016–2019). He is Associate Editor for the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies and Interacting with Computers. He has served several times as Associate Chair for the CHI subcommittee on Ageing and Accessibility. Sergio won the Best Technical Paper Award at ACM-Web4All 2009. He earned his PhD (cum laude) in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) in 2009.

Inhalt

Introduction.- How We Define Older Adults.- How We Generate Knowledge in HCI and Aging.- Research Methodologies for Aging Populations.- Designing Technologies for Aging.- Conclusions and Future Directions.