Research in the field:
“FUTURE FORWARD: RADICAL RE-FRAME OF AGE & AGING” is our design research topic for this project. Our goal is “Write a new story about long life.” Aging and Longevity is a life topic and we have a unique role to play in the lives of older adults and their communities of care and their environment.
What did I do?
As the team leader, I was primarily responsible for coordinating the schedule for each task and every team meeting. In addition, I was responsible for conducting interviews and data synthesis. As well as the I did the illustration of the final booklet.
OUR FINAL WORKBOOK
In the final, we do not provide a singular answer or solution but rather serve as an anthology of our research process and ideation as inspirations of speculative design.
What is Speculative design?
“Discursive design [or speculative design]offers the possibility of a critical stance.”
- Bruce Tharp and Stepanie Tharp, in Discursive Design 2018
OUR FINAL WORKBOOK
Our team wanted to understand the relationship between older individuals and the technology around them, especially as to how their past experiences with technology informed their current stances.
10 IDEAS
Our data is based on three research methods: Semi-structure Interview, Cultural Probe, and User Participatory Design. In our workbook, we provide four categories, and 10 ideas in total.
2 SPECTRUMS
In each idea, we came up with two sides of the speculative spectrum, including dystopian and utopian.
RESEARCH PROCESS
To achieve the final outcome, we have several research methods:
1. Secondary research
2. Intro interview
3. Culture probe
4. Exit interview
1.
SECONDARY
RESEARCH
Explore and detect and a potential area for further research
Our team is interested in older peoples’ adaption of new technology with their past experience. We found that many retirees change their daily routines and engagement. Also, Other technologies are also used frequently by older adults, even though they are less likely to adopt them.
How do the past experiences of technology older people have used, affect the current usage of technology in their home environment after retirement?
Technology
Technology seemed to be a barrier for older individuals as they had a tendency to adopt it less frequently. Yet, they would often have no qualms with adopting technology if they found it beneficial and they often interacted with it more often when they did. We wanted to explore this conflict.
In the Home
Instead of specific device types, our users often talked about the devices that they most often used. These devices we found were most often centered in the home.
Retirees
After retirement, older people often drastically lose their routine behavior. We wanted to see how this abrupt change might also impact their technology usage and knowledge.
2.
INTRO
INTERVIEW
Help us understand the general background of our participants.
Our team is interested in studying how older people's media technology adoption changes after retirement. Our research explored the relationship between older people, leisure and entertainment, and their most important wants and desires.
Fred
65 years old.
Retired at 55.
Worked as a electrical engineer, transitioned to real estate. Currently volunteers in the school system.
Quotes
“Technology connects us. But I also think something is lost.”
"[About smart devices] I’m worried people will forget how to do things. I’m serious!”
“I’m open to new technology... the setup and adjustment is frustrating.”
Notable Insights
No fear of new media technology but chooses not to use particular forms (e.g., social media apps).
- current technology provides opportunities and convenience.
- overloaded and massive information also causes extreme tension between individuals (especially on political events).
The barrier between technology & user
- Accessibility concerns
- System failure might mislead users in the problem-solving process: “Seem to understand how it works, but it doesn't work.”
Carin W
75 years old.
Retired at 65/66.
Worked in Medicaid billing, parent education, cashier, and as a minister for the Catholic Church.
Quotes
“Technology is a mess. Like a brain having a stroke.”
”[About phones] look at these pieces of junk.”
“[If technology was a person] I wouldn’t like them.”
Notable Insights
Does not connect people properly.
- Telehealth is a superficial means of treating a patient (left the industry due to technology.)
- The psychology of a person changes when they are online.
Those using tech, rather than itself.
- The final straw with her phone was when it stopped working, and customer support wasn’t helpful.
Karen D
60 years old.
Retired at 57.
Worked in specialty retail and merchandise planning.
Quotes
“Technology connects us. But I also think something is lost.”
"[About smart devices] I’m worried people will forget how to do things. I’m serious!”
“I’m open to new technology... the set up and adjustment is frustrating.”
Notable Insights
Not a problem with the tech itself.
- Main frustration is when the tool doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.
- People use media technology to spread negativity. She actively avoids those channels or platforms.
- Gets satisfaction in troubleshooting.
Not the perfect way to communicate.
- The final straw with her phone was when it stopped working, and customer support wasn’t helpful.
Karin H
65 years old.
Retired at 60.
Owned, managed, and taught at a PreK-1stgrade Montessori School. Grew up in Germany without technology.
Quotes
“[About Alexa] I do not want those things in my house... Never have, never will.”
”I use technology for information and communication equally.”
“If I have this phone, I want to be able to use it well.”
Notable Insights
Careful of technology in her home.
- If the tech isn’t broken, she keeps it. Still uses an iPod Shuffle.
- Everything serves a purpose. For travel, for media, or for information.
If she understands it, she likes tech.
- Really appreciative of technology, as long as it does what it’s supposed to.
- Takes night classes to understand how to use her new technology.
Luaretia S
68 years old.
Retired.
Worked with Seattle Public Schools for 39 years as an educator, dealing with lots of behavioral issues in elementary education.
Quotes
“...fell disconnected with technology... understand the process but not the intelligence or the language of it (4G, 5G...).”
“[About problem-solving]won’t do anything, won’t process it because of the fear of doing something wrong or making it worse.”
“I was left behind...[problem] solved but it doesn’t help me to learn what’s going on.”
Notable Insights
Struggled with “tech language.”
- Need the bigger picture together and understand the whole system
- Not really clear about how the parts go together.
One-time problem-solving will not fix the fundamental barrier.
- The fear and hesitation of using technology might come from the uncertainty of the experience.
Michelle . F
64 years old.
Retired in 2018.
Worked in jail as a captain.
Quotes
“ [Technology] have taken the children away from one on one personal talking.”
“...the reality is technology is only as good as the human being that put the program into the technology ...”
Notable Insights
Technology is just a work tool
- Need tech to work, to navigation, to communicate, but she doesn’t see tech as part of her life.
More isolation than communication
- Tech shapes how people communicate, as well as relationship and self-esteem.
learning is normal
Toni H
68 years old.
Retired in 2020.
Worked as a public school photo and media teacher.
Quotes
“Texting a massage on phone is not a complete conversation...”
“My dad knows how to read the message or the email, but he doesn’t know how to send.”
“...now everything is on APP... everything is digital...”
Notable Insights
Understands technology's usefulness and uses it, but doesn't rely on it.
- Immersive with digital and technology
- Want a real conversation, not the phone.
Frustration if technology goes wrong
- The most annoying part if the tech cannot keep all her data.
Karen F
Age 78.
Retired in 2010.
Worked as a teacher at the secondary level for the “profoundly disabled” for 26 years.
Quotes
“[Young people] probably like this, but notifications for updates make me tired... It’s annoying to change?"
“I don’t want to be ‘known’ online. I don’t bank, pay bills, etc online.
Notable Insights
Actively chooses not to keep up with media technology.
- Has programs (through senior homes and AARP) to teach technology skills.
- Chooses not to go. Doesn’t feel the need to use technology other than for communication.
The barrier between technology & user.
- System failure might mislead users in the problem-solving process.
Joan J
65 years old.
Retired at 2018
Worked as a supervisor for Macy’s and taught computer classes. Now volunteers as a photographer and manages website of a retirement home.
Quotes
“Technology is a mess. Like a brain having a stroke.”
”[About phones] look at these pieces of junk.”
“[If technology was a person] I wouldn’t like them.”
Notable Insights
Emotion barriers to technology
- Sometimes, when people don’t know how a device works, they’re scared of it.
Tech keeps own world
- Likes to use multiple devices at once. Sometimes used to be in her own “world” without being in a different room and distant.
Sarah Z
Age 62.
Worked as IT Programmer
Quotes
“I don’t like any social media, like Facebook, Twitter ” ... “I never post my image online, I am sensitive to negative news, ... I care about privacy a lot.”
“I use my phone to talk to my family, like my daughter my son, for directions, google map ”
Notable Insights
Cares about privacy a lot
- Worries about sharing information on the internet. Does not use social media.
Finacial barries
- Tried not to spend too much money during retirement because of fixed income, so has not bought any new recent technology.
Velma B.
77 years old. Retired at 72.
Young at heart. Worked in the lab at a blood center for 52 years.
Quotes
“Technology is not hard to use, it’s hard to learn.”
“I’m definitely interested in technology. But it takes too much time to learn. I’m busy!”
“I can take photos, I can call, I can read messages. I don’t need to do anything else.”
Notable Insights
Need time and effort to learn
- Doesn’t retain verbal instructions, and prefers visual tutorials.
- Would use services like Netflix, but forgot how to use it. The effort to relearn it isn’t worth it to her.
Technology is how others interact with it
- Very wary of scams and hacking.
- Deletes all calls and emails from any unknown contacts.
Regina R
62 years old. Retired at 60
Worked as a product program analyst, and volunteer at a senior center for teaching tech after retired.
Quotes
“There's an orange dot Well, how long is the orange dot been on? ... find out they have never done updates.”
“Well, if you don't know how to operate your email, how are you finding out? How are you communicating with the government, because the government doesn't do a lot via mail anymore.”
Notable Insights
Visual signal barries
- A problematic time understanding visual samples like icons.
- They might not have the mindset of digital visual representation
Social structure forces to use of tech
- Tech becomes the only access to information and resources
Talking activities
Photo collage - a visual expression of your emotion and memories related to current tech devices or technology relevant concepts.
Participants used pictures from pic deck that we prepared. Pictures are categorized into five senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. All pictures are intentionally abstracted and ambiguous to give participants their own meaning. It was surprising that they have different interpretations with the same pics. The fact that our participants possess a variety of positive and negative sentiments is illustrative.
These pictures are the top 4 choices from 6 participants.
And the top 5 descriptions they gave are Young, Isolation, Intersection, Messy, Smart.
Talking activities
Tech line - a timeline showing what technologies you have used and how you felt about them.
Majority of our participants immerse in technology in working processing. That is because 1983 is the birth year of the Internet. Most of them were around 30 years old, and were right in industrial fields. After that, an apparent drop happens after work and before retirement. However, our participants view technology positively in general.
3.
CULTURAL
PROBE
Assist us to explore hidden challenges and possibilities through an asymmetrical and inspiring approach.
Participants have one week to finish two activities back home. We collected their notes and photos for further research coding. We want to figure out two main questions:
- Where does your technology live?
- What technology is in your house?
Photo Diary
It can provide the context (emotions and interactions) of how media technology is utilized in the lives of participants.
We discovered that their attitude toward technology is favorable, but only if nothing goes wrong. Also, we found participants always use their tech devices alone. However, sometimes they will also share with families.
Tech Mapping
It is a practical and visualized tool that we can know all the technology they already have.
We knew the frequency of each device, what they use, and what they don’t. We found that the only stationary technology is TV, while others are all portable like phones and laptops. Also, we found that the living room is the center of technology.
Tools + Experience
The first interaction with tech was at work. Prior knowledge ties back to these early experiences.
Learning Curve
Interacting with tech comes with a learning and problem-solving process. Guidance is essential.
Adoption Barriers
Feelings of distrust and fear towards technology hinder further usage of technology.
Holistic guidance
The solution doesn’t focus on isolated solutions, but rather a greater understanding of tech as a whole.
Convenient
Our solution doesn’t require a large time commitment in order to access or to learn.
Recognizable
Our solution provides an opportunity for our users to become familiar with new technologies by leveraging their past experiences.
4.
SKETCH
REVIEW
Learning from participants on their reactions of our sketches helps us prompt better solutions and ideas.
After we brainstormed 50 initial ideas, we displayed and explained all 13 concept sketches for their feedback.
We get the three most key points from them:
- Self-explanatory: Some concept sketches weren’t self-explanatory enough (participants struggled with interpreting without description)
- Balance: Participants framed the design ideations as solutions in their mind and focused feedback on practicality and usability. (e.g, Credibility Score)
- Humor: Participants found humor in the naming and concept behind certain ideations
Hey Im Talking to YA
As personalized devices become more common, interactions with others around us become limited, leading to feelings of isolation. This solution was created to promote more engagement outside of technology. Note: It is also not limited to sound oriented devices, like earphones, but also to visions oriented devices like laptop or TV.
This solution senses when other people are in close proximity and automatically lowers the visual and auditory engagement of your personal device.
Credibility Score
Over the years there has been a noticable increase in misinformation spreading through technology, as well as an increase in mistrust and fear in information facilitated by technology as a result. This idea proposes a solution focused on making identifying mistrustful information easier.
This built in solution scans articles, posts, or other media and locates sources to validate or disprove a claim. It then uses this data to rate the credibility of the media, and provides context to allow the user to create an informed opinion.
Oops! Here's a cat!
When learning how to use new technologies, mistakes and unmet expectations are inevitable. These frustrations serve as one of the main barriers that keep people from continuing to utilize new technologies. By shifting the user's focus from an error to something fun and expected, the pressure and stress of trial and error are alleviated.
In this solution, every error is accompanied with a cute image of a cat that is added to the user's collection. Users will receive physical cat stamps in few days. These growing collections reduce the stress of learning and incentivize trying out new features.
Testicular Technology
As technology becomes more complex, trouble shooting problems becomes more difficult. When the TV shuts down, it's no longer solely the TV's fault, but could be related to the router, the wifi, the service company, etc.
To help show which technologies interact and connect, Tentacular Technology takes those wireless connections and makes them wired, allowing users to trace problems back to the source.
Test Run
When using unfamiliar technologies, the fear of the unknown and making a mistake creates wariness in adopting new technologies.
When Test Run is active, users can long press or right-click in order to directly preview the outcome of their current actions. This gives users the agency to understand what actions they will take, and ensure they are only triggering what was intended.
Icon Bingo
Visual language on devices are often unintuitive and lack a clear way to conceptualize their meanings. To help promote learning in a causal way, users can get used to language technology by exposing and immersing themselves in unfamiliar icons and visual language through their favorite games.
Icon BINGO replaces numbers with computer or phone icons to allow for an unconscious adaptation of visual language, all in familiar and physical means.
The Easy Route
As the world migrates to a more digital based system, those who prefer the familiarity of tangible devices may find solace in The Easy Route, a series of physical shortcuts.
For tasks that the user repeatedly completes, such as sending an email, a physical shortcut reduces confounding factors or distractions, automatically causing the user's device to navigate to the email app. These shortcuts can be customized to fit the needs of the individual, and allows for more physical interaction.
Pixel Pal
As technology collections grow, the number of questions on how to properly use a device grows as well. This solution allows people to have an accessible means to ask these questions.
Pixel Pal hops between your devices as you switch between then, sensing frustrations and problems that may arise. Rather than providing a surface level solution, Pixel Pal also provides resources that help understand the inner workings of the device, and the root issue of their frustration for more a long-term understanding.
Synonym Search
Synonym search is used to bridge the knowledge gap in tech-related language in all generations. It can also help users to better solve problems by themselves.
Utilizing one or more related words rather than precise terms in searching for aimed results, alleviates the frustrations in being unfamiliar with tech language. The dynamic word bank includes words and phrases commonly used by all generations, leading search engine technology to better “understand” users’ needs and deliver relevant results based on semantics rather than letter combinations.
Tech Market
This solution pushes back against the stigma in continuing to use older technology. This community centered solution also allows people of all ages to find like-minded individuals, locate resources for further learning, and learning new skills.
A weekly boothing event where individuals can sell older technology and hosts events aimed at helping people of all generations to celebrate and use vintage tech.
Articulation Appendix
Rather than putting the pressure onto the individual to adapt to evolving technologies, this solution pushes the idea that designers need to design using familiar and accessible language.
This dictionary of colloquial terms relating to technology is for designers to understand how our participants talk and used technolgoy in the past. Like the dictionary for internet buzzwords, translating new technology into familiar words help designers to better understand the meaning and context of tech jargon.
TECH-LINE
As technology rapidly evolves, designers need to be cognizant of design patterns and what is familiar to older user groups.
The Archive of Tech through the ages displays the different design patterns that have emerged. This allows designers to view the evolution and make informed decisions on how past technological advances can inspire better designs for people unfamiliar with new technologies.
A Walk in Their Shoes
To many of our participants, new technology is completely foreign and independent from what they are familiar with. This lack of familiarity makes adopting new technology difficult. This solution will allow designers to better empathize with their stakeholders, rather than relying on assumed prior understandings.
This solution is a completely new, and deliberately designed technology system that has nothing to do with current technologies, but is able to achieve the same result with them. This will be aimed for the usage of designers in order to allow them to understand the situation as trouble takers rather than solution providers. Challenging designers to find strategies and inspiration in coping with unfamiliar technology.
1#
Preconceived notion’s
about technology
1Through our research, we found hesitations in using the internet due to dissonance in how people should utilize social media and news technology.
“I think the tools enable potential isolation, you know, because everybody can just go watch their own thing in their own place.”
–Karen D
Reflection
Due to unfamiliarity with technology jargon and iconography, our participants often struggle to ask the right questions or find support when tech problems occur. We considered what might happen if third parties could scale trust and encourage small opportunities to rectify our participants' preconceived views. We also focused on technology-related isolation, showing how removing people's choice to isolate could isolate them more.
Utopian
Hey, I’m Talking to Ya’
This solution senses when other people are in close proximity and automatically lowers the visual and auditory engagement of your personal device, so you know when others are interested in engaging with you.
Dystopian
Stay Away From Me
This solution senses when other people are in close proximity and shuts off your nearby devices. If you want to use your device, you must isolate yourself in a different area.
2#
Problem solving while using technology
2.1 Understanding how it works
Our participants often struggle with conceptualizing how technology works and connects, especially with our generations' increase in smart devices in homes. This affects their ability to fix tech-related problems when they arise and put them off from future usage.
2.2 Familiarity with tech jargon
When running into tech-related problems our participants often have problems formulating the correct questions to ask or searching for help, as a result of lack of familiarity with tech jargon and tech icons.
“If you don't find any of the obvious things immediately wrong, well, what's wrong? Is it something with the tv? Is it something with my internet? And I don't know enough to discern some of those things, it leaves me feeling frustrated.”
–Karen D
“It's hard a lot of times for me to explain what my problem is, because I don't really know”
–Luaretia
Reflection
Looking into solutions for the problem-solving issues of our participants; our team focused on creating concepts that took into consideration people’s familiarity with technology, as well as the convenience of these concepts to our participants.
Utopian
Glimpse of Us
When things go wrong with your device, this solution show’s you a glimpse of what devices that are contributing to your problem so you can quickly figure out what might be going wrong.
Dystopian
Tentacular Technology
This concept helps you to visually understand wireless device connections and physically wires them together. Allowing users to easily trace problems back to the source when trouble shooting.
Utopian
What Do You Mean By “Bigger”?
This solution enables you to ask a chatbot when you have trouble formulating your questions while troubleshooting for tech-related problems. The chatbot will help you define and phrase your question properly.
Dystopian
Jargon For My Jargon
This concept aims to simplify the use of jargon by adding another universal label for different physical and digital tech concepts that tech jargon often refers to.
3#
Learning about technology
3
Learning about technology can be a challenge due to a lack of holistic guidance, as well as opportunities to be introduced to new technology due to barriers such as financial and community resources.
“...They don't know how to work [the technology] because their child didn't sit down and explain it to them. Or they did it so fast, they have no concept of what it was they did you know, and then they're stuck.”
–Regina
Reflection
We sought to make our solution more active in educating users, such as when they set up a device, instead of forcing them to go to the learning recourse. After reviewing our data, we wanted to make sure our solution offered a holistic and hands-on learning experience.
Utopian
Adven-Tech Calendar
With this concept, user’s are encouraged to explore and learn about different features of their device during set up, in bite sized instruction goals spanning any amount of time they want.
Dystopian
Let’s Start Slow
This concept helps you to learn about you your device by offering daily learning milestones for user’s to reach, which slowly unlocks different features of the device.
4#
Designer focused
4
Our participants problem’s related to technology adoption were not their own fault, but the fault of the designers. They often did not provide ways for people to learn or make use of these technologies.
“It's a very complicated system. And most people can't figure that out.”
–Fred
Insights
Participants' problems related to technology adoption were not their fault but from the fault of the designers of these technologies. They rarely provided ways for persons like our participants to learn or use these devices without technological familiarity or physical/mental fitness.
Reflection
Our team focused on connecting designers with older people to promote empathy or providing alternative ways to learn about older people to increase empathy. We also aimed to develop concepts that motivated and benefited designers and older people.
Utopian
Tell Me Testimonials
An updating digital card set concept that allows designers to explore real world users. The cards allow designers to think about the problems these users may face, and actual testimonials to their thoughts and actions as as result. This will allow designers to better empathize with the users of their designs.
Dystopian
Persona Ghosts
A static card set that offers designers a set of persona’s to learn and empathize with. However, these personas emphasize stereotypes, leading designers to design for groups of people that may not exist.
Reflection
Looking back at our work, our team realized that when it came to the adoption of technology after retirement, outside of personal motivation and preconceived notions, most of the barriers that prevented our participants from adopting technology were often out of their control. Often stemming from harmful stereotypes and lack of educational resources for older people. After this book, we hope our readers have been able to gain a new perspective on these problems.
Future
This project solidified my desire to be an inconspicuous but necessary cog in a massive social revolution. Design for the future as well as for ourselves.
Reverse
If we had more time for this project, I would seek out a more varied demographic and conduct additional historical research.
Promotion
When we looked at our data again, we found more introspective and thought-provoking quotes that may not have answered our research questions, but they are still worth looking into.
Acknowledgments
This workbook would not be possible without the stories, time, and trust that all of our participants graciously offered to us. We would like to take the opportunity to humbly thank Karen F., Karen D., Velma, Michelle, Regina, Toni, Fred, Lauretia, Carin, Sarah, Karin H., and Joan for all their generosity and kindness throughout this process.
