Older people and smartwatches, initial experiences

While wearable technologies, such as smartwatches, are seen as an opportunity to solve some problems related to older people (65+), e.g. emergencies, physical activity, or isolation, little is known about how older people would domesticate such new technologies. In this study we provided eleven older individuals with smartwatches and tracked their expectations and initial experiences using two interviews. According to our preliminary findings, previous experience with ICTs along with optimistic attitudes toward technology were key to initial domestication of the new technology and overcoming initial problems. Moreover, use was closely related to expectations and personal habits. Participants in this study used smartwatches in similar ways to to those described in previous studies with adults (18–64), including managing notifications and sports’ tracking. Additionally, users reported that the smartwatch provided a boost in social status (associated with attributes such as cool, snobbish, young) and created some fashion opportunities and/or concerns.