As experts try to convince the world to buckle in for rounds 2 and 3 of COVID-19, and we become increasingly dependent on the digital world to converse, to interact, to work, and to do just about every other thing we used to do to function. Companies are learning to lean more on remote work, everyone is learning to use zoom, Netflix has parties, and soon enough, all other aspects that are lacking in regards to filling our everyday needs will be filled by crafty entrepreneurs and their eager design and development teams. But as the digital world becomes even more essential, one has to ask if we're preparing the senior population for this dependence?
Making the web senior-friendly is definitely not a new endeavour. The design community takes care to solve the issue, and most designers will tell you that a design isn't well done, if it's not usable for people of all ages and abilities- after all, inclusive design doesn't slow down or inconvenience anybody- it actually helps ensure more intuitive and usable design. In addition, the percentage of senior users has increased twicefold between 2007 and 2016 (Statistics Canada, July 2019)- seeing a rise from 32% to 68%- prompting online companies to give the demographic better consideration.
But does use denote real engagement in this case?
Although the number of senior Canadians has risen considerably- the same Statistics Canada article found that seniors were using the internet mainly for communication, rather than for helping them make informed decisions- an even smaller percentage found that it helped them save time. So although we have convinced them to use the internet, the stat seems to imply an uneasiness and lack of trust with it.
A relationship between users and a product shouldn't be so obligatitory. If we do our jobs right, the user should leave satisfied and informed.
There are 2 roadblocks to that relationship for seniors and the internet. The first is neophobia- a fear of trying new experiences, which becomes more and more prevalent with old age. To a lot of them, using the internet has been that new thing that they've been avoiding learning- which a lot of them see as grounds for dismissal, or even skepticism.
The second is a lack of uniform usability. Not every screen is designed the same way, or with the same level of quality. Multiple encounters with bad UI stick out and leave a bad impression of the internet as a whole.
I would like to make an appeal for a focus on a user experience that assuages these fears and assumptions. Kinder language- more and frequent links to help sections, tutorials and walkthroughs. A lot of companies and designers do this job wonderfully- especially those in the medical sector. However, besides the quality of these designs, we do need quantity. The more of us focus on giving our senior population these experiences and interactions, the more we can onboard to use services they otherwise would not- like online shopping. We need to make headache-free and kinder UX a common and frequent experience- rather than a one-off as we have been accelerated into this dependence.