Frankly, I think most of those suggestions are valid for all ages. Low contrast pages are horrible for everyone, and will likely make one’s eyes degrade well before the forties. Reading is inherently a faster process than watching videos, for everyone who’s past the elementary school (save for dyslexic people, but there are fonts that make the text more legible for them). No one likes having to adapt to UI changes made for now good reason.
If young people can cope with poor accessibility better, it’s not a reason to subject them to it.
With the single exception of my 94-year-old mother, I don’t know a single person over the age of 65 who doesn’t have a smartphone, computer, or tablet, and usually all three.
Not to take away from the rest of the article, but this is total bullshit, my family is kinda different and can’t be the only one, or maybe we Germans are just that much behind?
Sure, maybe most use computers, smartphones are kinda non-existant, and I know of zero tablets. But maybe it’s because we have no 65+ age bracket (with one exception) right now, only sub-60 and over 72ish. Also using a computer doesn’t mean being online.
Also in one case eye sight is so bad that the zoom level is beyond anything comprehensible for normal humans anyway, so unless the designer tried hard to lock down resizing, it won’t matter anyway. The rest is fine with font sizes that I prefer since my late 20s. (I know, I know, 8pt Verdana was the hot shit 20 years ago.)
We are the generation that invented and grew up with personal computers.
Yeah, well, maybe in Silicon Valley. I found my parents very forward-thinking when they bought a computer in the mid-90s, it was supposed to help with the company (it did). But nearly all kids I grew up with only got one quite a bit later, and we weren’t even poor. The parents of those kids were probably born between 1940 and 1960 - and none of them got well-versed with computers as long as I had contact with their kids.
I hardly know anyone over.. let’s say 50 who really grew up with a computer near them or even at work (one friend’s dad worked with computers, they were the first ones to have one at home in ~91 or 92). The only ones who did can now unequivocally be described as nerds, programmers, or IT folks in general - they’re like me, just a little older.
I really don’t know if the author or I am more out of touch with reality back then?
This is probably cultural. I’m from India, where computers and smartphones were for nerds and the super rich as little as a decade ago. Now, I barely know anyone under the age of 65 who doesn’t at least use a smartphone. The caveat, though, is that most older users in India only really know how to use a small selection of apps that have become necessary through network effects and social pressure (WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, etc.)
Interesting fact: voice assistants – something that techie types from Western countries dismiss as a gimmick – have made technology accessible even to the 24% of the population that can’t read.
Sure, I get that - but I’m not sure I know any Facebook users above 60/65 either, and to the best of my knowledge usage here has declined a lot already, so they had been 10 years younger when signing up :P
Overall I do think the sad state of mobile connectivity surely plays a role. It’s a running joke that you get a lot better coverage in the Swiss mountains than just 20km outside of a bigger German city,
That’s the reason Facebook (the company) keeps buying new social networks (Instagram, WhatsApp). The core product is increasingly seen as boring and mainstream and for “parents”.
Yeah, but I guess you have to differentiate the “parent” generation. I’m old enough to have kids who would use smartphones and TikTok, so I’m already in that generation? ;)
All my 70+ year old relatives and quite a few of my friends’ grandparents are on Facebook. Most are just on there to keep up with their family members and talk to them about what they post. They’re not heavily using it themselves. They might share something here or there.
Definitely using it, though. Actually, one of them is my main source of info on what family are doing on Facebook. I talk to her in person plenty. She kept me updated after I quit using it.
Frankly, I think most of those suggestions are valid for all ages. Low contrast pages are horrible for everyone, and will likely make one’s eyes degrade well before the forties. Reading is inherently a faster process than watching videos, for everyone who’s past the elementary school (save for dyslexic people, but there are fonts that make the text more legible for them). No one likes having to adapt to UI changes made for now good reason.
If young people can cope with poor accessibility better, it’s not a reason to subject them to it.
I recently had to get progressive lenses, and cannot read my phone when I’m wearing contacts to exercise.
If you’re lucky, you too will get older. Best to start making websites that are easy for you to use later.
Not to take away from the rest of the article, but this is total bullshit, my family is kinda different and can’t be the only one, or maybe we Germans are just that much behind? Sure, maybe most use computers, smartphones are kinda non-existant, and I know of zero tablets. But maybe it’s because we have no 65+ age bracket (with one exception) right now, only sub-60 and over 72ish. Also using a computer doesn’t mean being online.
Also in one case eye sight is so bad that the zoom level is beyond anything comprehensible for normal humans anyway, so unless the designer tried hard to lock down resizing, it won’t matter anyway. The rest is fine with font sizes that I prefer since my late 20s. (I know, I know, 8pt Verdana was the hot shit 20 years ago.)
Yeah, well, maybe in Silicon Valley. I found my parents very forward-thinking when they bought a computer in the mid-90s, it was supposed to help with the company (it did). But nearly all kids I grew up with only got one quite a bit later, and we weren’t even poor. The parents of those kids were probably born between 1940 and 1960 - and none of them got well-versed with computers as long as I had contact with their kids.
I hardly know anyone over.. let’s say 50 who really grew up with a computer near them or even at work (one friend’s dad worked with computers, they were the first ones to have one at home in ~91 or 92). The only ones who did can now unequivocally be described as nerds, programmers, or IT folks in general - they’re like me, just a little older.
I really don’t know if the author or I am more out of touch with reality back then?
This is probably cultural. I’m from India, where computers and smartphones were for nerds and the super rich as little as a decade ago. Now, I barely know anyone under the age of 65 who doesn’t at least use a smartphone. The caveat, though, is that most older users in India only really know how to use a small selection of apps that have become necessary through network effects and social pressure (WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, etc.)
Interesting fact: voice assistants – something that techie types from Western countries dismiss as a gimmick – have made technology accessible even to the 24% of the population that can’t read.
Sure, I get that - but I’m not sure I know any Facebook users above 60/65 either, and to the best of my knowledge usage here has declined a lot already, so they had been 10 years younger when signing up :P
Overall I do think the sad state of mobile connectivity surely plays a role. It’s a running joke that you get a lot better coverage in the Swiss mountains than just 20km outside of a bigger German city,
Haha, my unscientific observation is that Facebook is very popular here in Sweden in the 60+ age group.
“Boomer Facebook” is a meme
That’s the reason Facebook (the company) keeps buying new social networks (Instagram, WhatsApp). The core product is increasingly seen as boring and mainstream and for “parents”.
Yeah, but I guess you have to differentiate the “parent” generation. I’m old enough to have kids who would use smartphones and TikTok, so I’m already in that generation? ;)
Me too. My offspring doens’t even have a Facebook account.
All my 70+ year old relatives and quite a few of my friends’ grandparents are on Facebook. Most are just on there to keep up with their family members and talk to them about what they post. They’re not heavily using it themselves. They might share something here or there.
Definitely using it, though. Actually, one of them is my main source of info on what family are doing on Facebook. I talk to her in person plenty. She kept me updated after I quit using it.
My late grandmother on my father’s side would have loooooooved Facebook for precisely this reason.