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from the You-May-Be-Younger,-But-I-Have-Better-Insurance dept.
(Disclaimer: I wrote the article Creating Online Environments That Work Well For Older Users but suspect that many Soylentils will find it useful.)
A significant part of the Internet-using population is aged 50 or older — including the people who invented it. Web designers need to understand what older users need and why it's not enough to just say, "I can read it, so what's the problem?"
If you're my age you have no doubt run into more than a few web sites that are just plain useless, either because you can't read the text, or because they were designed using assumptions that those of us over forty years of age don't find useful. Whether it's our need for high contrast text, or our preference for actual words and paragraphs over video, the needs of older users often get ignored.
We are the generation that invented and grew up with personal computers. It's absurd to suggest that we are less capable of using technology. In other words, you can't complain about old people not understanding tech, and then also complain that they've taken over Facebook and Twitter. Besides, we also usually have lots more disposable income, so catering to our needs is good for business.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Saturday November 23 2019, @05:26AM (1 child)
Which is why I primarily use my mobile device as a *phone*. Shocking, I know.
I will occasionally use it for web browsing, but only when I can't get to a device with a keyboard/mouse.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday November 24 2019, @04:54AM
yep -- I use my phone for browser stuff as an absolute last resort only when immediately necessary -- often times I'll think "oh I should look into X" and when I get home or back to my office, I'll fire up a browser and do the search.