Everyone Is Always Aging: Glocalizing Digital Experiences by Considering the Oldest Cohort of Users

Abstract

Purpose: Older adults (aged 65+) represent an under-explored group in technical communication, despite rapid population aging. Designing for older age cohorts holds potential for "glocalization"—integrating the local and the global—through attending to the needs of a specific user community while benefiting all users through interventions that prioritize usability, accessibility, and generational cultures. Method: Using structured task analysis methods, I investigated the steps and decisions that six adults aged 75+ took to accomplish five increasingly difficult tasks. Results: Though participants were easily able to access the Internet and find a news story online, they faced difficulties when attempting to modify the homepage on their browser, use mapping tools to determine the distance between two locations, and identify a government document answering a question about income taxes. These findings point to four key considerations when designing for older age cohorts: user customization and personalization, information literacy, deceptive patterns, and mismatched mental models stemming from gaps between declarative and procedural knowledge. Addressing these needs through targeted design, documentation, and education can help the oldest user group to realize their technological goals. Conclusion: This very localized study of a specific group of users has global implications for research and practice. Designing experiences for the oldest adults provides critical opportunities for usability, because though they represent a specific user community, designing for them and alongside them actually benefits all users, because everyone is always aging. Thus, accounting for aging bodies and minds serves as an important form of glocalization for designers of communication.