Dispelling ageing myths in technology design

Abstract

We present a review of literature from the fields of gerontology, gerontechnology, HCI and government policy that deals with social and technical solutions for the ageing population. We highlight common assumptions about ageing people, which we argue are still embedded in much of the research related to the domain of ageing. This paper challenges six common assumptions across four broad themes that we identified in the literature. It aims to provide a reminder and resource for designers to eschew assumptions during designing technology for 'older' users.