{"70062":{"#nid":"70062","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Computers Provide Connections for Older Adults","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe rapid evolution of computers makes it challenging for\ncomputer savvy users to keep up, but what about older Americans? How useful are\ncomputers to the aging population?\u0026nbsp; As\nthe rate of technology change accelerates, there is a need to understand how older\nadults use technology and what factors influence their adoption of new\ntechnology.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA team of researchers from Georgia Tech and Florida State\nUniversity are investigating the perceptions older adults have of the\nusefulness of computers as a communication tool. This study,\nbeing presented at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, examined\nthe degree to which demographic variables, technology and computer experience,\nand the perceived importance of an activity for older adults\u2019 quality of life\ninfluenced the older adults\u2019 perceived importance of the computer for\ncommunication activities.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWendy Rogers, Georgia Tech School of Psychology professor and principal investigator on the NIH-funded\nproject, explained, \u201cThis research will broaden our understanding of\ntechnology acceptance for older adults. Our findings will help guide the design\nof future systems as well the development of better instruction and training\nfor current computer systems.\u201d \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough some findings were anticipated based on previous\nwork, the research did uncover some unexpected results that may lead to future\nresearch.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the more surprising findings was that within this\nsample of older adults, the oldest individuals found a computer more useful for\ncommunication activities,\u201d said John Burnett, a graduate student on the\nresearch team. \u201cThere could be several reasons for this finding, and it\ndeserves more research.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Burnett, \u201cIt could be that older computer users\nare less mobile and therefore more likely to find certain types of\ncommunication tools more important to them.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers believe that this type of research is important\nbecause it has implications for how products are developed and how the United\nStates designs for an aging population.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is not that older adults are afraid of technology, but\nmaybe that technology is not designed in a way this is useful to or usable by\nolder adults. It could also be that older adults are not aware of some of the\npotential benefits of these communication technologies,\u201d Burnett said.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research showed that those surveyed preferred certain\ntypes of computer communication. Email and emailing photos were the most\nimportant communication tool for those older adults surveyed, whereas video\nconferencing and social networking were not as important.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research revealed that older adults generally strongly\npreferred specific computer-based communication technologies. For designers,\nthis would suggest a need for making technologies more usable for older adults.\nFor example, including video conferencing or forums that are difficult to use\nor poorly understood by the user may only increase the complexity of a\ncomputer, making its use less likely.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBurnett suggests, \u201cA comprehensive assessment of user needs\nand preferences for activities can assist designers in developing computer-based\ncommunication technologies that older adults perceive as being more useful.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA\nteam of researchers from Georgia Tech and Florida State University are\ninvestigating the perceptions older adults have of the usefulness of computers as a communication tool.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech and Florida State researchers investigate how useful computers are to the aging population."}],"uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2011-09-19 10:15:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:09","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"70061":{"id":"70061","type":"image","title":"Psychology Photo - John Burnett Research","body":null,"created":"1449177288","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:48","changed":"1475894614","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:34","alt":"Psychology Photo - John Burnett Research","file":{"fid":"192895","name":"wendy_rogers_-_john_burnett_psychology_photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wendy_rogers_-_john_burnett_psychology_photo_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wendy_rogers_-_john_burnett_psychology_photo_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2082201,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/wendy_rogers_-_john_burnett_psychology_photo_0.jpg?itok=q93kzAQf"}}},"media_ids":["70061"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"14342","name":"older adults"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"623","name":"Technology"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mattnagel@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}