With increasing popularity of touchscreen phones, there is a corresponding increasing emphasis on ergonomics considerations with a focus on use and interaction style between older and younger users. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of touchscreen phone interfaces to discover if they are designed to be inclusive and consider ergonomics. The research methods comprised interviews and focus groups in order to gain qualitative data on the use and satisfaction of touchscreen phones in relationship to age. Results have demonstrated a variety of opinions among the age groups, with users in the 18-25 age-range promoting a positive attitude towards brands, but blaming technology for errors, in contrast to users in the 60-70 age range who blamed themselves for errors and were more focused on function than brand. The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of the attitudes surrounding inclusive design in relation to touchscreen phones.

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Touchscreen and Perceived Usability: A Comparison of Attitudes between Older and Younger Mobile Device Users

Tom Page*
Senior Lecturer, Electronic Product Design, Loughborough Design School, Loughborough University, UK.
Periodicity:February - April'2016
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jmt.3.1.8179

Abstract

With increasing popularity of touchscreen phones, there is a corresponding increasing emphasis on ergonomics considerations with a focus on use and interaction style between older and younger users. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of touchscreen phone interfaces to discover if they are designed to be inclusive and consider ergonomics. The research methods comprised interviews and focus groups in order to gain qualitative data on the use and satisfaction of touchscreen phones in relationship to age. Results have demonstrated a variety of opinions among the age groups, with users in the 18-25 age-range promoting a positive attitude towards brands, but blaming technology for errors, in contrast to users in the 60-70 age range who blamed themselves for errors and were more focused on function than brand. The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of the attitudes surrounding inclusive design in relation to touchscreen phones.

Keywords

Touchscreen Device Usage, Ergonomic Considerations, Inclusive Design

How to Cite this Article?

Page, T. (2016). Touchscreen and Perceived Usability: A Comparison of Attitudes between Older and Younger Mobile Device Users. i-manager’s Journal on Mobile Applications and Technologies, 3(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26634/jmt.3.1.8179

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