How we are discriminating older People in digital Technology
Today we are talking about older people and the specific challenges they face in the digital space. Older people are probably the largest group that is systematically discriminated against when it comes to using modern technology.
Summary
Older people are one of the largest, yet least considered groups in digital accessibility. They are often excluded by complex design, lack of experience, and inaccessible interfaces—even though digital services are increasingly a prerequisite for participation in society.
Main problems:
- Hardly any focus on older people in the accessibility discourse
- Complex, poorly designed interfaces (e.g., forms, error messages)
- Small, low-contrast visuals and poor audio quality
- High security requirements make usage even more complicated
- Limited digital experience → higher barriers in standard processes
- Growing dependence on help or complete exclusion
- Feeling of being “left behind” socially
- Few training opportunities and declining analog alternatives
Key causes:
- “Latent” impairments (vision, hearing, motor skills, cognition)
- Lack of UX focus on this target group
- Testing with the wrong (too tech-savvy) user groups
- Insufficient training for these groups
Possible solutions:
- Co-design: actively involve older people
- Radically simplify and clarify interfaces
- Improve error handling and provide clear feedback
- Expand training and ongoing support
- Preserve analog alternatives
- Use proven, intuitive design patterns
Core thesis:
Digital systems that work for older people are usually better for everyone.
Older people are ignored
Interestingly, older people are relatively rarely discussed in the context of digital accessibility—even though they are probably the largest excluded group when it comes to web usage. In purely quantitative terms, there are significantly more older people than, for example, people with visual impairments or physical disabilities such as wheelchair use. Especially in the area of physical impairments, they are likely the largest affected group—and at the same time one that is talked about surprisingly little.
One reason for this is certainly that “older people” are not a clearly defined category. When does this age begin—at 70, 75, or 80? This ambiguity makes it harder to clearly define the target group. In addition, it is by no means a homogeneous group. There are many older people who are very digitally competent and sometimes even handle more complex tasks than younger users. However, this does not change the fact that a large part of this group is hardly considered when it comes to digital access.
For a long time, this may have been less problematic. Digital services mainly meant convenience—such as online shopping, social networks, or streaming services. However, we are now moving into a world where more and more processes take place exclusively digitally. Analog alternatives are being reduced or completely eliminated. As a result, digital participation is becoming a prerequisite for social participation—and older people are becoming a key target group.
In addition, there are widespread stereotypes: older people are often seen as being distant from technology or lacking competence in using digital applications. There is also an underlying assumption that they are generally not interested in technology. Of course, there are people who say, “This isn’t for me.” But the idea that this applies to the majority is hardly sustainable.
On the contrary: many older people would like to use digital services—for example, to stay in touch with their children or grandchildren via messaging services or video calls. Digital solutions also offer advantages in shopping, especially when physical strain becomes an issue. And finally, administrative processes are increasingly affected, as they are often only accessible digitally today.
A concrete example: in Bonn, as far as I know, it is hardly possible to schedule an appointment at the citizens’ office without digital means. Booking is either done via a web form or through terminals on site. Traditional methods such as phone calls or showing up without an appointment are—at least to my knowledge—not provided for. Digital usage is therefore no longer an option, but a requirement.
Accessibility guidelines without the needs of older people
Another central problem is that existing digital accessibility guidelines—such as WCAG or EN standards—do not define specific requirements for older people. In principle, these standards avoid addressing individual target groups separately. In practice, however, the focus is strongly on traditional forms of disability.
Aspects that are particularly relevant for older people—such as specific UX patterns that take cognitive or age-related limitations into account—hardly play a role in the discourse so far. Even in the discussions surrounding these standards, these topics are rarely addressed. This creates the impression that the issue is not perceived as central.
One possible explanation is that such questions are often assigned to general UX design—topics that affect many people regardless of formal disability. However, older people often fall into the category of so-called “latent impairments,” which are not clearly classified as disabilities but still have a significant impact on usability.
Assistive technologies are complex to use, difficult to learn, and require experience to use smoothly. This also makes it harder for older people to benefit from them.
Discriminatory design
How do we actually recognize age discrimination in digital spaces?
A key point is that people are excluded through design decisions. Patterns are used that are difficult for older people to understand or operate. Texts and UI elements are often too small or have low contrast—even though many older people demonstrably have difficulties with contrast perception.
Audiovisual content also plays a role: videos sometimes have poor sound quality and are therefore difficult to understand. Subtitles do not always help, as they are often too small or too fast.
There are also complex or unintuitive design patterns. A typical example is forms. They do provide hints for corrections—but often in ways that are not actually helpful. For people who grew up with digital interfaces, this is usually manageable. For older people, however, it can be a significant barrier.
Many simply do not know:
- How do I go back a page?
- How do I know if a form is filled out correctly?
- How do I fix an error—and what is the error in the first place?
A simple example: entering a phone number. People often use parentheses, hyphens, or slashes. Some forms do not allow these characters—without clearly communicating this.
I remember a case with eBay Classifieds: I entered my phone number but couldn’t submit the form. There was no error message. It took me a long time to figure out that certain characters were not allowed. In the end, I discovered it almost by accident.
At the time, I still had the patience to analyze something like that. Today, I would probably give up much sooner. And that’s exactly the problem: this kind of design appears again and again—especially in government forms. You click “Next,” but nothing happens. And there is no explanation why.
This affects all users. But younger people often find a solution more quickly because they have more experience with digital systems. Those without that experience reach their limits much faster.