Bridging the digital divide for seniors: Research on design principles for age-friendly touch interfaces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71451/ISTAER2542Abstract
This study addresses the digital divide faced by the elderly and systematically explores the design principles and practical paths of aging-friendly touch interfaces. By integrating human-computer interaction theory, universal design principles, and cognitive psychology, an aging-friendly design framework with four dimensions, namely vision, interaction, function, and emotion, was constructed. The study adopted a mixed method, combining case analysis and user testing, to verify the effectiveness of innovative designs such as dynamic font size adjustment, multimodal feedback, and progressive learning guidance. The study found that successful aging-friendly design not only needs to solve usability issues at the operational level but should also pay attention to the psychological needs and trust building of elderly users. The "capability-centered" design concept and quantitative evaluation tools proposed in the study provide a systematic solution for the aging-friendly transformation of digital products and have important theoretical and practical value for promoting digital inclusion.
References
[1] Wannapipat, W., & Wiersma, W. (2025, July). Bridging the Digital Divide: User Interface Design Principles for Enhancing Elderly Learners’ Engagement with Educational Technology. In International Conference on Innovative Technologies and Learning (pp. 284-293). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98185-2_30
[2] Liu, Y., Shan, Y., Zhang, M., Ji, B., & Zhou, Y. (2025). Digital Divide in Smart Sports Applications for the Elderly and Its Mitigation. Quality in Sport, 40, 60013-60013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2025.40.60013
[3] Matlala, N., & Samela, F. (2025). Digital Inclusion of Elderly Population: Adoption of Device Centric Contactless Replacing Cash-A Systematic Review.
[4] Vogel, P., Jurcevic, N., & Meyer-Blankart, C. (2021). Healthy, Active and Connected: Towards Designing an Age-Friendly Digital Neighborhood Platform. Designing Openness-Infusing Socio-Technical Artifacts, 109.
[5] Zhou, C., Zhan, W., Huang, T., Zhao, H., & Kaner, J. (2023). An empirical study on the collaborative usability of age-appropriate smart home interface design. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1097834. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1097834
[6] Al-Muhannadi, S. B. M. (2025). Navigating the Digital Age: Examining Technology Adoption Among Older Adults in Qatar–Barriers, Benefits, and Support Strategies (Master's thesis, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar)).
[7] Yu, T., Ruhizal, R., Hakimi, A., & Dong, D. (2025). Smart public spaces and elderly care: The role of digital technologies in enhancing quality of life in China. Geojournal of Tourism and Geosites, 60, 1388-1398. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.602spl34-1510
[8] Lim, C. K., Chen, H. Y., & Chen, X. Y. (2024). A Seamless Technology Integration Framework for Elderly-Centered Interactive Systems: Design, Implementation, and Validation Through the Pillow Fight System. Applied Sciences, 14(23), 11306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app142311306
[9] Massa, C., De La Vega, M., & Zelaya, M. I. (2024). Bridging the Digital Health Literacy Gap in Older Adult Populations Through a Service Design Approach. In Service Design, Creativity, and Innovation in Healthcare: Challenges, Insights, Solutions (pp. 191-208). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-65766-5_12
[10] Kang, D., & Choi, M. (2025). AI-Assisted Smartphone Trading and the Digital Divide among Older Adults. Journal of Aging and Environment, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/26892618.2025.2506054
[11] Li, Y., Yang, Y., Shi, S., Wang, B., & Chen, G. (2024). Seniors’ knowledge-based digital marginalization in the era of information technology advancements. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(3), 12622-12650. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01600-6
[12] Spevak, K., Hoelbing, D. P., Schmelz, D., Baranyi, R., & Grechenig, T. (2025, June). Banking Innovation vs. Elderly People: The Limits of Mobile Banking and Self-Service Stations-An Empirical Report to Improve Inclusive Design. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 367-385). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93061-4_23
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Scientific Technical and Economic Research

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0).