Ageing and Older Adults

Abstract

Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12 to 22%. Maintaining a high quality of life for these people has become an important issue throughout the world. The Web has been shown to have a positive experience on the quality of life and well-being of older adults, by assisting them to maintain an independent living. However, many older adults seem to shy away from the Web due to various problems they experience when interacting with the Web. To understand the nature of these problems, this chapter presents the functional impairments and the attitudes that might contribute to older adults' hesitation of utilising the Web. This chapter then discusses the changes that happen with age and their effects on Web interaction. It then moves to the standards surrounding Web accessibility, more specifically WCAG, and how they assist older adults. Finally, it discusses activities that older adults perform on the Web.