http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/jan06.asp
Percent of adults of a given age who use the Internet (US)
- age 46-55 — 86%
- age 56-65 — 75%
- age 66+ — 41%
- Older adults use the Internet for news, shopping, entertainment, and to keep in touch with friends and family.
- Common myths are:
- older users cannot learn to use the Internet
- old people don’t use computer
- elderly people are “technophobes”
These are indeed stereotypes and are not accurate.
- There are reasons, however, why some older users don’t use computers even more:
- lack of motivation or reason to use the computer
- lack of experience with current technology
- cognitive differences and age-related declines
- lack of knowledge of how to use the Web
- no access to a computer
- no understanding of what to do with the Web
==> Make sure users are motivated to use the product you are designing.
==> Be sure you know, and are not just guessing, what their motivation is.
