Technology for 70 year olds
IDEO U - Insights for Innovation
Project
Understand how people in their 70's could be better served by technology.
- Observe - completed
- Extremes
- Interviews
- Empathy
- Insights
1. Observe
Observation Plan
WHO: People in their 70's, both when they are interacting with technology and when they are going about their day.
WHERE: The public library and local bookstore (Powell's).
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
WHERE: The public library and local bookstore (Powell's).
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
- What they are doing
- Emotional reactions - when they got excited or upset
- How they presented themselves socially
- What are they were interested in
- Look for surprising moments
Themes Observed
My curiosity was sparked:
- Experience entertainment
- Segregation from youth
- Technology Usage
- Comfort before Style
Theme 1: Experiencing Entertainment
A man was excited by fun looking board games for their group of friends. He laughed at a funny one and pondered a Sherlock Holmes game.
But when he brought his pick to his wife, he was shut him down. “Honey, I think these are too hard for us to learn”.
It sounded like they were in a gaming group with friends their age. It made me wonder if they lacked an interest in learning new things or if the instructions were too hard for their group to learn.
He joined his family for a bit, searching for gift ideas for someone - a cactus dish, funny hand towels, a unicorn blowup head. He was quiet compared to his family and soon headed back to the board game.
It sounded like they were in a gaming group with friends their age. It made me wonder if they lacked an interest in learning new things or if the instructions were too hard for their group to learn.
He joined his family for a bit, searching for gift ideas for someone - a cactus dish, funny hand towels, a unicorn blowup head. He was quiet compared to his family and soon headed back to the board game.
He seemed to take his wife's suggestion as he stood in the easy puzzles area for 10 minutes. After family was stuck waiting for him, his wife had to go get him. He left without buying any games and his wife purchased a book and shirt
Old radio shows, a video game and board games - I wasn’t expecting to see this. An elderly Asian man quietly looked at these old radio shows and chose several to check out. Another man on an iPhone switched from Facebook messaging to a super hero video game.
Theme 2: Segregation from Youth
Younger folks area took up much of the second floor. The older folks were mostly in the area by old desktop computers. Noticed a theme of people condescending or talking down to elderly folks. They were nice and friendly but seemed to upset people.
Theme 3: Technology Usage
While the younger folks had slick macbooks and tablets, the 70+ year olds had older tech. One man's smartphone was a flip-phone style. They used big desktop computers or large PC laptops. It was cool to see one man chatting with friends in Facebook. No one seemed to be frustrated or wanting help. They appeared comfortable with the tech they had. One man was surfing the web looking at google maps, google docs and wikipedia articles.
This woman sat smiling, excitedly typing (very loudly typing) with her giant laptop and big stack of women’s history and feminism books.
This man was having trouble seeing things on his phone. Likely small font. He held his phone inches from his face and used two hands to interact.
This man was having trouble seeing things on his phone. Likely small font. He held his phone inches from his face and used two hands to interact.
Theme 4: Comfort Before Style
Generic soft sneakers (no branding), double-layered shirt with collar, a hoodie, not always fashionable. Notice the man’s hat on top of his headphones - I'm curious why he did that. There also seemed to be more physical discomfort, especially when walking or breathing. Hunched posture, a cane, or bowed legs.
Reflecting on Exercise
I was struck by the board game scenario and wanted to learn more about his social gaming group and kinds of games they play. What could help them adopt new games?
What could help connect the younger and older generations? How could we help people in their 70's improve their social status and fight the stereotypes like - they need assistance, can't use technology, or are not intelligent?
What could help connect the younger and older generations? How could we help people in their 70's improve their social status and fight the stereotypes like - they need assistance, can't use technology, or are not intelligent?
People in their 70's
Online, I see this age demographic is quite active and barely retired. I call out these famous people below to give us perspective. I observed people in their 70's being more comfortable with technology and more intellectual than us younger generation gives them credit for. The next step will be conducting interviews to dig in deeper.
