*I have always been a fan of Skype. In this project, I used Skype as a base to fictionally develop a more user-friendly version for elderly people.
"Is there anything that you miss or wish that you had?"
"...Yes; I miss company."
This answer came from almost every elderly person i asked. What could make them less lonely?
S-senior is a socially sustainable project aiming to prevent loneliness among our elderly. In today's society, we often live geographically far from each other even within families. The packed schedules of the younger generation together with the fact that many elderly are not as mobile as they once were makes it harder to get together.
Friends and family are important ingredients in life, and it is important to nurture these relationships despite distance and lack of time in our every day lives.
Internet-based communication has made it easier to stay connected but it is often designed in a way that excludes the elderly since it is difficult or impossible to use with poor eyesight and shaky (or just inexperienced) hands.
The S-senior project suggests a user-friendly layout for older people, intended as a communication tool to enable them to feel closer to their friends and family.
Maximum three clicks away.
Since it is hard to define an “elderly” person, I put together a focus group of three different profiles who I worked close to during the project. Interviews and arranged Skype meetings between them and their grandchildren enabled me to carefully observe how they interacted with the program and know their feelings around the experience of video-calls.
Clickable PDFs with alternative layouts showed what worked better or not, and after many trial and error loops I had the final solution of maximum three clicks to the video conversation, large and easy to understand icons and a simple structure for the different options.
The fascination, happiness and curiosity over this “new” way of communication which opened a new world for them made them think about who they would call next, what they needed to make this work with out the help of my arrangements etc. Which was beautiful to see. Mission accomplished.
However. It is a question of a new behaviour and habit as well as a new product for many. In order to incorporate this in the elderly persons everyday life everyone has to be involved and engaged to make it work – younger family members, friends of the elderly and the elderly themselves.
Ps. Of course this should not be "instead of" the real meeting. But it is as close as it gets when a real meeting is not possible.
