The Danger of an Adult-oriented Internet

A friend of mine directed my attention to an article about web users over 65 years of age, and it highlighted something that has been a concern of mine for some time. It's also something I've commented about previously on this blog, but something worth discussing again.

First, in grand philosophical tradition, I want to make sure that we understand the terms, and in this case there are three to which we should attend: cognitive overhead, adults, and older adults. Cognitive overhead is the number of logical connections or 'jumps' your brain has to make in order to understand or contextualize the thing you're looking at, or to put it another way, it's what your brain has to go through to assign meaning and purpose to what you see. Older adults, at least in the manner it's used here, refers to people 65-years-old or older, while adults will refer to people between 21 and 64.

From numerous studies, we know that one of the most significant factors that affects response time is age. At least one study^[1] has accounted for possible computational error and still found significant evidence that response time (for choice reaction time^[2]) is almost twice as long for older adults than adults. Going beyond the simple studies that measure reaction to stimuli, we find even more evidence of cognitive changes related to aging^[3], changes that should profoundly impact how we create human computer interfaces of all kinds, but especially those on websites. The only viable solution to reducing the impact these changes have is to reduce cognitive overhead, and while web designers have long been aware of the need for application of the Hick-Hyman Law to site navigation, it must - as at least one other author has noted^[4] - be applied to more.

Beyond the issues of cognitive overhead, however, there are also more simply-defined issues related to physical concerns - design issues such as font size and color contrast and usage issues related to dexterity - concerns that significantly impact older adults.

All of these issues - cognitive overhead, physical accessibility, and usage patterns - must be considered when designing an interface. Why? From one perspective, it is, to a significant degree, an accessibility issue - especially when we consider the physically-related concerns - but also because - and here's the really important part - it's the right thing to do - it's the easiest way to treat everyone with respect.

Not convinced? How about this - it's good in a capitalist community to tout business opportunity, so let's consider the business opportunity. In the past decade in the US, Internet use among adults grew about 3% each year, however, use among older adults grew 16%^[5], and the number of older adults using the Internet in the US is now estimated at 19 million.

Want still more? As I've said before (in my What I learned writing payment interfaces series), velocity matters^[6], and older adults are 43% slower than adults^[7].

It doesn't take much to combine the double-digit (or even nearly double-digit) annual growth with the vast difference in velocity between age-based user groups to see a significant opportunity, especially for e-commerce (which is generally a lagging indicator)^[8]. Yes, the number of users not in the older adults category is greater, but does that really matter? First, consider this - as a merchant, you may already have 10 customers but can you really afford to turn away the next 5 simply because they're older adults? Second, the number of older adults is increasing - as people are shouting from the rooftops, many of us are aging societies as population growth slows and lifespans get longer.

Finally, the danger of an adult-oriented Internet is simply this - an adult-oriented Internet is less usable for older adults, and likely less usable for young adults (those under 21 years of age) - especially when cognitive overhead is high. The current landscape (an adult-oriented Internet) presents a not only an opportunity to do the right thing, but a significant business opportunity as well.

You are getting older, as am I, and I don't want to just suffer through interfaces that could be better - none of us do - but as the data shows, that is not only a possibility but is also significantly likely as well. So, if you're not convinced by everything else, consider insisting on a better interface to be an act of kindness to yourself. Whatever your reason, let's work to make the Internet a more welcoming place for older adults, not just an adult-oriented playground with shopping.

Notes:

1. The Effects of Aging on Reaction Time in a Signal Detection Task
2. "Response time" can be a bit misleading because it's the combination of "reaction time" and "movement time". However, there are many different kinds of "reaction", not just one. Simple reaction time, the reaction to the presence of a stimulus, has the lowest cognitive load; recognition reaction time, the reaction to the presence and absence of a stimulus, has a slightly higher cognitive load; and choice reaction time, the distinct reactions to stimuli, has the greatest cognitive load.
3. An excellent resource regarding changes in cognition brought on by aging can be found in Brain Aging: Models, Methods, and Mechanisms, which you can access through the NCBI Bookshelf. The first chapter gives a good summary of common changes in cognitive function brought on by aging.
4. In Redefining Hick's Law, Jason Gross argues not for the redefining of Hick's Law, but a more complete application.
5. According to the Office for National Statistics in the UK, the estimated changes in 2012 were 1% and 9% rather than 3% and 16%.
6. What I learned writing payment interfaces (Part I)
7. Seniors as Web Users
8. Users generally partake of free or nearly-free services long before spending on purchases, or even online banking and brokerage services (which may entail trust/risk concerns).