research-article

Desiring to be in touch in a changing communications landscape: attitudes of older adults

Authors:

Siân E. Lindley,

Richard Harper,

Abigail SellenAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '09: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Pages 1693 - 1702

https://doi.org/10.1145/1518701.1518962

Published: 04 April 2009 Publication History

Abstract

This paper offers an exploration of the attitudes of older adults to keeping in touch with people who are important to them. We present findings from three focus groups with people from 55 to 81 years of age. Themes emerging from the findings suggest that older adults view the act of keeping in touch as being worthy of time and dedication, but also as being something that needs to be carefully managed within the context of daily life. Communication is seen as a means through which skill should be demonstrated and personality expressed, and is understood in a very different context to the lightweight interaction that is increasingly afforded by new technologies. The themes that emerged are used to elicit a number of design implications and to promote some illustrative design concepts for new communication devices.

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Cited By

Hu RPradhan ABonsignore ELazar A(2024)Sustaining the Usefulness and Appeal of an Older Adult-led Makerspace through Developing and Adapting ResourcesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36374018:CSCW1(1-29)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://doi.org/10.1145/3637401
Tanprasert TDai JMcGrenere J(2024)HelpCall: Designing Informal Technology Assistance for Older Adults via VideoconferencingProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642938(1-23)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642938
Yang MMoffatt K(2024)Navigating the Maze of Routine Disruption: Exploring How Older Adults Living Alone Navigate Barriers to Establishing and Maintaining Physical Activity HabitsProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642842(1-15)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642842
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Index Terms

Desiring to be in touch in a changing communications landscape: attitudes of older adults
1. Human-centered computing

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Information & Contributors

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '09: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

April 2009

2426 pages

ISBN:9781605582467

DOI:10.1145/1518701

General Chairs:
Dan R. Olsen
Brigham Young University
,
Richard B. Arthur
Brigham Young University
,
Program Chairs:
Ken Hinckley
Microsoft Research
,
Meredith Ringel Morris
Microsoft Research
,
Scott Hudson
Carnegie Mellon University
,
Saul Greenberg
University of Calgary

Copyright © 2009 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Published: 04 April 2009

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April 4 - 9, 2009

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CHI '09 Paper Acceptance Rate 277 of 1,130 submissions, 25%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 6,199 of 26,314 submissions, 24%

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Cited By

Hu RPradhan ABonsignore ELazar A(2024)Sustaining the Usefulness and Appeal of an Older Adult-led Makerspace through Developing and Adapting ResourcesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36374018:CSCW1(1-29)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://doi.org/10.1145/3637401
Tanprasert TDai JMcGrenere J(2024)HelpCall: Designing Informal Technology Assistance for Older Adults via VideoconferencingProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642938(1-23)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642938
Yang MMoffatt K(2024)Navigating the Maze of Routine Disruption: Exploring How Older Adults Living Alone Navigate Barriers to Establishing and Maintaining Physical Activity HabitsProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642842(1-15)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642842
Miller JGandhi KWhitby MKosa MCooper SMekler EIacovides I(2024)A Design Framework for Reflective PlayProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642455(1-21)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Zhao WKelly RRogerson MWaycott J(2024)Older Adults Imagining Future Technologies in Participatory Design Workshops: Supporting Continuity in the Pursuit of Meaningful ActivitiesProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3641887(1-18)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3641887
Nurain NChung CCaldeira CConnelly K(2024)“It’s Like Living a Different Life, Going to the Moon”: Rethinking Space and Activity in the Context of COVID-19Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)10.1007/s10606-024-09493-yOnline publication date: 24-May-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-024-09493-y
Döring NMikhailova VBrandenburg KBroll WGross HWerner SRaake A(2024)Digital media in intergenerational communication: Status quo and future scenarios for the grandparent–grandchild relationshipUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-022-00957-w23:1(379-394)Online publication date: 1-Mar-2024
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Diao YLu ZLu QLiu GWang JFeng YJeung J(2023)"\"Not to Show Off but to Express Love for Life\": Management and Presentation of Older Square Dancing Groups via WeChat and Video Communities in China"Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium of Chinese CHI10.1145/3629606.3629617(97-109)Online publication date: 13-Nov-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3629606.3629617
Tang XDing XZhou Z(2023)Towards Equitable Online Participation: A Case of Older Adult Content Creators' Role Transition on Short-form Video Sharing PlatformsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36102167:CSCW2(1-22)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
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Li LTang XPiper A(2023)Understanding Extrafamilial Intergenerational Communication: A Case Analysis of an Age-Integrated Online CommunityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36100527:CSCW2(1-25)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
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