Usability for Older Adults: Challenges and Changes
Users ages 65 and older face unique challenges when using websites and apps. Digital literacy among this demographic is rising, but designs need to accommodate older users. Our recent research explores how older adults use technology and offers recommendations on how digital products can be improved to meet their needs.
Why Design for Older Adults?
In many wealthy countries, people aged over 65 are the fastest growing demographic. As a global society we are living longer and remaining active later in life. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Institute, in 2019 73% of people over the age of 65 were connected to the internet. The US Census Bureau reports that people over the age of 65 have the highest household wealth of any age group.
Despite these facts, digital products often fail this growing and wealthy demographic. As Don Norman observed, bad design abounds, in both physical and digital products. Current interaction designs often feature illegible text, tiny targets, startling sounds, and other features that make the online world unfriendly to older users.
Research Program
We have conducted three rounds of user research, with a total of 123 participants aged 65 and older. Our studies were conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Japan over a period spanning almost 2 decades. Below is a summary of our research program over time:
| Period | Research Methods and Scope |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Usability testing of 17 websites with 44 older adults |
| 2013 | Usability testing of 29 websites with 31 older adults |
| 2018–19 | Usability testing of 12 websites and 6 apps with 18 older adults; Focus groups with 20 participants; Contextual inquiry with 10 older adults. |
Our qualitative research sessions used sites and apps from a variety of genres, including:
- Ecommerce: Amazon, Target, Whole Foods, Home Depot, Instacart, Maytag
- Health: WebMD, Mayo Clinic, Center for Disease Control, rxlist.com
- Banking: Chase, Charles Schwab
- Government: National Institute of Health, Medicare.gov, Government of Canada
- Tourism and travel: National Parks Service, Airbnb, United Airlines
- Media and entertainment: Spotify, Apple Podcasts
- News: NPR, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, Canadian Broadcasting Company
- Social media: Facebook, Twitter
Defining “Older Adult”
We use a simple definition: older adults are users aged 65 years or older. We had no upper end, though the oldest participant in our research was 89 years old. Of course, this age range is a simplification. It’s not as if people change all their behaviors on their 65th birthday.
The human-aging process starts when you turn 20; people in their 40s already have sufficiently reduced eyesight to require somewhat larger font sizes than eagle-eyed designers in their 20s. Our testing with middle-aged users has shown that between the ages of 25 and 60 people's ability to use websites declines by 0.8% per year. On one hand side, we need to consider the impacts of human aging on usability long before age 65. However, on the other hand, in some contexts, 65 is too young to be considered an older adult.
Changes Over Time
Since we first conducted usability studies with older adults 18 years ago, both the digital landscape and the characteristics of older adults have changed. There have been substantial changes in the findings since our follow-up user research with adults ages 65+ in 2013. Older users are growing skilled at using the internet and apps. Their expectations for digital products are evolving and the devices that they use to access the internet have changed.
The Baby Boomer generation is now reaching retirement age. This generation, born between 1946 and 1964, is far more likely than past generations of older adults to have had more substantial experience with information technology.