Elder-friendly Designʼs Effects on Acceptance of Novel Technologies

In this paper we describe the effect elder-friendly design had on elder acceptance of a technology designed to enhance online security. This elder-friendly alternative interface was developed for an anti-phishing toolbar that was previously found usable by students but rejected as unfathomable by elders. We recruited five elders to use both the toolbar instantiation and the elder-friendly interface in their homes for three weeks. During that time we generated a phishing email attack. We then had third researcher interview all participants. No elders using either interface responded to the phishing attack. Interviews indicated that elders found the more transparent toolbar interaction unusable, while the elder-friendly interface was acceptable. Elders could identify and describe times that it assisted their decision-making, yet when asked to describe generic benefits they could not do so.