Talking ‘bout my Generation … or not?: The Digital Technology Life Experiences of Older People

I argue that research on digital technologies for older people is largely failing to address two key issues: first, the lack of understanding and stereotypical views about older people by young researchers and developers; second, the tendency of researchers to treat all older people as a homogeneous group. I set out the case for the importance of digital technologies for older people, and the evidence for each of these issues, partly using a review of 102 papers on the topic from the ACM Digital Library. As one part of the way forward, I present a series of pastiche personas of older people, which young researchers and developers may find engaging and informative. Finally, I discuss strategies we might use to improve our understanding of the samples of participants we work with in developing digital technologies for older people.