Designing social networking sites for older adults

Lorna Gibson, Wendy Moncur, Paula Forbes, John Arnott, Christopher Martin, Amritpal S. Bhachu

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

71 Citations (Scopus)
3 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The importance of older adults’ social networks in providing practical, emotional and informational support is well documented. In this paper, we reflect on the personal social networks of older adults, and the shortcomings of existing online Social Networking Sites (SNSs) in supporting their needs. We report findings from ethnographic interviews, focus groups and hands-on demonstrations with older adults, where we find key themes affecting adoption of SNSs. We then consider design aspects that should be taken into account for future SNSs, if they are to meet the preferences of older users.

Original languageEnglish
Pages186-194
Number of pages9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Sep 2010
Event2010 British Computer Society Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, BCS-HCI 2010 - Dundee, United Kingdom
Duration: 6 Sep 201010 Sep 2010

Conference

Conference2010 British Computer Society Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, BCS-HCI 2010
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityDundee
Period6/09/1010/09/10

Keywords

  • communication
  • older adults
  • personal social networks
  • privacy
  • social networking sites

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