{"id":11508,"date":"2018-12-03T11:59:48","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T16:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/?p=11508"},"modified":"2024-07-08T06:05:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T10:05:40","slug":"changing-the-conversation-seniors-and-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2018\/12\/03\/changing-the-conversation-seniors-and-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing the conversation: Seniors and technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stereotypes of seniors confused by and struggling with technology might be amusing, but not necessarily accurate<\/a>, says School of Information researcher\u00a0Robin Brewer<\/strong>, an SI presidential postdoctoral fellow. Technology isn\u2019t necessarily befuddling for older adults in and of itself, says Brewer. Most of the challenges are because of changes in abilities that make traditional devices and systems tougher for them to use, so Brewer wants to alter our way of thinking about older adults and technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than designing for disability and decline in older adulthood,\u201d she writes that \u201cshifting the focus towards designing for late-life development may help prevent reinforcement of these stereotypes and begin to empower the individuals we aim to engage with the new systems we introduce.\u201d<\/p>\n