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.

">

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

References

[1]. Balagtas-Fernandez, F., Forrai, J. and Hussmann, H, (2009). “Evaluation of User Interface Design and Input Methods for Applications on Mobile Touch Screen Devices”. Human-Computer Interaction–Interact, Vol. 5726, No. 1, pp. 243-246.
[2]. Balakrishnan, V. and Yeow, P.H, (2008). “A Study of the Effect of Thumb Sizes on Mobile Phone Texting Satisfaction”. Journal of Usability Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 118-128.
[3]. Burrows, A., Mitchell, V. and Nicolle, C. (2011). “All Together Now: Factors that Foster Older Adults' Feelings of th Independence”. The 6 Unidcom/IADE International th th Conference: Sense & Sensibility in the Right Place. 6 -8 October 2011, Lisbon.
[4]. Clarkson, J. (2003). Inclusive Design: Design for the nd Whole Population. 2 Ed. London: Springer.
[5]. Fingas, A. (2013). The Ever-Expanding Smartphone Screen: How Supersized Became Everyday. Retrieved from Http://Www.Engadget.Com/2013/03/01/The-Ever- Expanding-Smartphone-Screen/ [Last Accessed 7th July 2016].
[6]. Garfein, A. J. and Herzog, A. R. (1995). “Robust aging among the young-old, old-old, and oldest-old”. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Vol. 50, No. B, pp. 577- 587.
[7]. Hoober, S. (2013). How do Users Really Hold Mobile Devices? Retrieved from Http://www.Uxmatters. Com/Mt/Archives/2013/02/How-Do-Users-Really-Hold- Mobile-Devices. Php [Last Accessed 24th July 2016].
[8]. Hornor, T. (2014). “Why the Flat Design Trend is Hurting Usability ”. Retrieved from Http://www.Vandelay design.Com/Why-The-Flat-Design-Trend-Is-Hurting- Usability/ [Last Accessed 18th July 2016].
[9]. Jin, Z.X., Plocher, T. and Kiff, L. (2007). “Touch Screen User Interfaces for Older Adults: Button Size and Spacing. Universal Access in Human Computer Interaction”. Coping With Diversity, Vol. 4554, No. 1, pp. 933-941.
[10]. Langdon, P. M., Lazar, J., Heylighen, A. and Dong, H. (2014). Inclusive Designing: Joining Usability, Accessibility, & Inclusion. Switzerland: Springer.
[11]. Lee, M.W., Yun, M.H., Jung, E.S., and Freivalds, A, (1997). “High Touch: Ergonomics in a Conceptual Design Process–Case Studies of a Remote Controller and Personal Telephones”. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 239-248.
[12]. Lin, Y.C. (2013). “The Relationship Between Touchscreen Sizes of Smartphones and Hand Dimensions”. Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Applications and Services for Quality of Life, Vol. 801, No. 3, pp. 643-650.
[13]. Newell, A.F. (2003). Inclusive Design or Assistive Technology Inclusive Design. Springer, London.
[14]. Newell, A.F. and Gregor, P. (2000). “User Sensitive Inclusive Design–In Search of A New Paradigm”. Proceedings of the 2000 Conference on Universal Usability, ACM.
[15]. Newell, A.F. and Gregor, P. (2011). “User-Sensitive Inclusive Design”. Universal Access in The Information Society, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 235-243.
[16]. Nicolle, C. and A Bascal, J. (2001). “Inclusive Design Guidelines For HCI”. Proceedings of Include, pp. 18-20, London.
[17]. Pattison, M. and Stedmon, A.W. (2006). “Inclusive Design and Human Factors: Designing Mobile Phones for Older Users”. Psychology Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 267- 284.
[18]. Pickering, J. A. (1986). “Touch-Sensitive Screens: The Technologies and their Application”. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 249-269.
[19]. Scott, B. and Conzola, V. (1997). “Designing Touch Screen Numeric Keypads: Effects of Finger Size, Key Size and Key Spacing”. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 360-364.
[20]. Sears, A. (1991). “Improving Touchscreen Keyboards: Design Issues and a Comparison with Other Devices”. Interacting with Computers, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 253-269.
[21]. Serianni, D. (2014). What is Flat Design? Retrieved from Http://Hindsiteinc.Com/Blog/What-Is-Flat-Design/. [Last Accessed 18th July 2016].
[22]. Spencer, B. (2014). Are Smartphones Changing the Shape of our Brains? Retrieved from Http://www. Dailymail.Co.Uk/Sciencetech/Article-2885213/Are- Smartphones-Changing-Shape-Brains-Area-Controls- Thumbs-Larger-People-Use-Touchscreens-Daily.Html [Last Accessed 24th July 2016].
[23]. Wroblewski, L. (2014). Designing for Large Screen Smartphones Retrieved from Http://Www.Lukew.Com/Ff/ Entry.Asp?1927 [Last Accessed 24th July 2016].
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Pdf 35 35 200 20
Online 35 35 200 15
Pdf & Online 35 35 400 25

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.