Age inclusive digital platforms

As services increasingly shift online, older people need to utilise more digital technology. However, many digital platforms still lack the inclusiveness required for all older people to use and engage with them. Some using technology frequently meet a digital world unsuited to their cognitive, sensory, functional and socio-emotional abilities. So, their digital experience seldom aligns with their digital literacy, or personal wants and needs. As most digital platforms are not designed for older people, they are more likely to require assistance to use them. This can impact financial resilience, health, and sense of belonging. To encourage platform developers to utilise an inclusive design approach, to better consider the needs of older people, we created guidance for developing age-inclusive digital platforms. This involved focus groups, interviews, and user testing. We analysed older peoples’ use cases, interviewed development teams and reviewed best practices worldwide. This resulted in a Hebrew-language booklet for developers and designers, which we recently translated to English. With initial adoption, we are starting to see these principles implemented in Israeli government and municipal digital services. We hope to create further meaningful change in the usability of digital platforms to improve the lives of older people, including our future selves