Editorial Introduction—Perspectives on HCI Research with Older People

TLDR: In this article, a critical reflection about the research conducted within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with older people thus far, whose predominant perspective focuses on health, help, and age-related decline in functional abilities.

Abstract: This book promotes a critical reflection about the research conducted within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with older people thus far, whose predominant perspective [Perspective is defined here as “the assumptions about a phenomenon being studied or designed for, the lenses used to analyze it and the questions asked” (Rogers in HCI theory: classical, modern, and contemporary. Morgan & Claypool, USA, p. 4, 2012)] focuses on health, help, and age-related decline in functional abilities. This book introduces a new (or different) perspective, which is grounded in interdisciplinary research on older people and digital technologies. Key elements are to (i) address topics that include, but also go beyond decline, health, and help, such as leisure, fun and culture, to delve more deeply into the role of digital technologies in multiple facets of older people’s lives; (ii) focus on doing research and designing technologies with and for older adults, and their communities, to avoid and fight against negative social conceptions of ageing; (iii) examine older people’s life course, strengths, interests, and values, as well as their limitations and needs, to design technologies that not only help but also empower them over time. This perspective aims to help us better understand, design, and evaluate older people’s interactions with digital technologies in the early 21st century.