Accessible Design on Mobile Apps for Elders

In the era of new technologies, the functions of mobile apps cover all aspects of our lives. Social networking apps expand our social and business groups, as well as increase job and entertainment opportunities dramatically. Other types of apps, such as travel and buying & selling apps, enable people to get both tangible and intangible products without leaving home. The fast development of mobile apps, however, made it difficult for elders over 65 to understand and learn, and the physical condition of elders presents barriers to operating new technologies. Overall, the lack of accessible design on mobile apps has caused elders to not have the equal opportunity to obtain information and enjoy the same conveniences as other age groups; and new technologies have gradually made the older generation feel abandoned. In the past six months, I conducted a competitive analysis of the current situation of using mobile apps by the elderly to gain a broad view on the user experience of mobile apps for elders. I designed and distributed a questionnaire survey among members of the Yakima Serious Table Tennis Club to understand the barriers they encountered when using various types of mobile apps. I interviewed two retirees from different fields of employment and cultural backgrounds about their views on the usability of different kinds of mobile apps. Ultimately, referring to my collected data and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, I analyzed possible changes that could be made by some popular apps to improve the accessibility for elders. I created interface templates of an accessible mobile social media for elders using Adobe Experience Design; then I edited it to a final version while doing usability tests on the templates. The conclusions from this research could be used to help design applications that are suitable for more age groups, and to ultimately make society more inclusive by letting elders have equal opportunity to enjoy new technologies