Research On The Digital Life Of Elderly Smartphone Users

With the further acceleration of the aging trend and the development of digital technology,more and more elderly people begin to use smart phones to surf the Internet,which has become a part of the elderly ’s daily life.Despite advances in technology that have improved their quality of life,the elderly remain a marginalized group in the digital age.At the same time,the digital life of the elderly is also facing difficulties,and the digital divide is still troubling the elderly.An in-depth understanding of the digital life of the elderly and the psychological characteristics of the elderly in the digital age are helpful to bridge the digital divide.Based on the relevant theories of digital divide and technology acceptance,this study conducted a semi-structured interview with the elderly to investigate their smartphone and Internet use.Interview data were collected and analyzed.According to the behavior and psychological characteristics of the elderly in using smart phones and the Internet,a portrait of the elderly in using smart phones was constructed to describe their behavior in using smart phones and their image of digital life.At the same time,on this basis,a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the needs and pain points of the digital life of the elderly,so as to further understand the general situation of the digital life of the elderly.This paper attempts to construct a problem solving framework to improve the digital life experience and quality of the elderly,which provides a psychological perspective for solving the digital divide problem of the elderly.The study draws the following conclusions:(1)The elderly are a relatively diverse and heterogeneous group,and there are differences in the use of smart phones and Internet among different elderly subgroups.According to their usage behavior and psychological characteristics,elderly smart phone users can be divided into four typical users: active,difficult,obstacle and passive,as well as general users with both of these four characteristics.(2)The digital life of the elderly can be divided into three stages:functional learning,daily use and obstacle solving.Inability to see and remember clearly,inability to operate and use,and lack of confidence in the use of digital products are the three pain points in the digital life of the elderly.(3)There are three opportunities for age-appropriate design in the digital life of the elderly: providing the elderly with channels to learn the use of smart phones and the Internet,as well as corresponding operation tutorials;Carry out aging appropriate design of digital products;Provide access to help and solutions to obstacles for older people.(4)The elderly demand for digital products is simple,convenient and self-learning.Therefore,when designing digital products for the elderly,the following principles can be followed: optimize the operation process and simplify the operation steps;Highlight visual effects;Set up embedded prompts and instruction;Increase the fault tolerance rate.Based on the above principles,this study proposes the design concept of an APP for digital life service products for the elderly.