Accessibility of social media applications for elderly

Enhancing Accessibility of Social
Media Applications for Elderly
Users: A User-Centric Design
FAIZA LATIF
(SP22-RSE-003)
Department of Computer Science
(Date: 10/01/2024)
Supervisor: DR. TAHIR MUSTAFA MADNI
Co-Supervisor: DR. UZAIR IQBAL JANJUA
Department of Computer Science
COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad Pakistan
1
MS Thesis Defense by Faiza Latif, Jan 10, 2024, Department of Computer Science,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad-Pakistan

Introduction
• HCI research has evolved to address a multitude of domains
[1].
• One such domain within HCI is the intersection of social
media applications and the elderly population [3].
• The UI is seen as a significant issue when creating mobile
applications for elderly users.
• Social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook
Messenger, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram etc. [5] [6]
• Older individuals may face barriers in accessing and
utilizing social media applications due to factors:
i. Physical limitations
ii. Cognitive decline
iii. Unfamiliarity with digital interfaces. [10]
2
Fig 1. Elderly & Social Media

Literature Review
Authors Proposed Techniques Evaluation
Measures/Methods
Limitations
H. Salman et al. [12] Framework-based prototype
of a smartphone UI (text UI)
for elderly people.
Efficiency, Effectiveness,
User satisfaction
Too much text on UI which
may frustrate elderly.
Gomez-Hernandez et al. [33] Proposed 27 design
guidelines related to
navigation, visual, cognitive
load, help & training and
interaction.
Thematic analysis No implementation
guidelines are
recommended.
Kulsiri Chirayus et al. [9] Proposed cognitive design
guidelines related to
Attention, Short-term or
working memory,
Procedural memory, Spatial
cognition, Psychomotor
speed and few others.
Systematic literature review Category short-term memory
do not contain much
guidelines which can be
implemented for a mobile
application interface for
elderly.
Jing Jing Chang et al. [27] Developed a social media
mobile application interface
that incorporates physical &
cognitive design related
considerations.
Efficiency, satisfaction Proposed interface does not
meet the requirements
related to learning curve.
3
Table 1.
Literature
review

Problem statement
Elderly users encounter significant accessibility challenges when using social media applications due to age-related
physical, cognitive limitations, and Unfamiliarity with digital interfaces [13]. One of the foremost challenges is the
difficulty in interacting with UI, including small text and icons, poor color contrasts, often present barriers for those
with diminished vision capabilities. Additionally, tap and hold operations [32] make it difficult for older people
having hand trembling or reduced hand-eye coordination , leading to frustration and reduced engagement. Cognitive
issues, such as reduced short-term memory [4] [19], further hinder their ability to navigate complex features and they
struggle to remember and learn [2]. Existing studies and guidelines have addressed these problems [21], still further
research is needed to understand the specific difficulties faced by senior users. These limitations result in a lack of
control over application content, ultimately decreasing user engagement and satisfaction. Therefore, there is a need to
resolve these issues to enhance the accessibility in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction of elderly
users when using social media applications on smartphones.
COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad-Pakistan 4

PS References
[2] W. Zahida, V. Effendy, and A. Hadikusuma, “Improving Messenger Accessibility for Elderly Users using User Centered Design (UCD) Methods
(Study Case: WhatsApp),” ICSECS-ICOCSIM, Aug. 2021, pp. 273–278. doi: 10.1109/ICSECS52883.2021.00056.
[4] S. Sarcar, C. Munteanu, J. Sin, C. Wei, and S. Sayago, “Designing Conversational User Interfaces for Older Adults,” ICCUI, NY, USA, 2023. doi:
10.1145/3571884.3597438.
[13] A. Hafez, K. Wang, and J. Arfaa, “An Accessibility Evaluation of Social Media Through Mobile Device for Elderly,” Sep. 2018, pp. 179–188. doi:
10.1007/978-3-319-60492-3_17.
[17] S. Sarcar, “Evaluation of Model-Based Optimized Touchscreen Keyboard for Older Adults with Hand Tremor,” CHIuXiD, NY, USA, 2021, pp.
11–15. doi: 10.1145/3431656.3431658.
[19] R. Lindberg and O. Troyer, “Towards an Up-to-Date list of Design Guidelines for Elderly Users,” Sep. 2021, pp. 1–7. doi:
10.1145/3489410.3489418.
[21] L. GuimarãEs, N. Martins, L. Pereira, E. Penedos-Santiago, and D. BrandãO, “Interface Design Guidelines for Low Literature Users: A Literature
Review,” ICEEL, NY, USA, 2023, pp. 29–35. doi: 10.1145/3578837.3578842.
[32] Usability Evaluation of Smartphone Gestures in Supporting Elderly Users, Advances in Visual Informatics: 6th International Visual Informatics
Conference, IVIC 2019, Bangi, Malaysia, November 19–21, 2019, Pages 672–683 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34032-2_60
[35] C. Dodd, R. Athauda, and M. Adam, “Designing User Interfaces for the Elderly: A Systematic Literature Review,” Sep. 2017.
[36] Y. Zhong, A. Weber, C. Burkhardt, P. Weaver, and J. Bigham, “Enhancing Android accessibility for users with hand tremor by reducing fine
pointing and steady tapping,” Sep. 2015, pp. 1–10. doi: 10.1145/2745555.2747277.

Research Objectives
Objective 1: To identify elderly people’s challenges for accessibility while using
social media mobile applications from Literature Review and Initial Experiment.
Objective 2: To develop a conceptual accessibility framework for social media
mobile application.
Objective 3: To design and develop an Interactive framework-based prototype
application for elderly.
Objective 4: To validate the accessibility of Interactive Prototype Application with
WhatsApp Application.

Research Methodology
Fig. 2 Proposed Methodology

Proposed Framework
Fig. 3 Proposed Conceptual Framework

Hypothesis For Mean Efficiency
Score
Null Hypothesis Alternative Hypothesis
There is no significant
difference in the mean
efficiency scores between the
new prototype and WhatsApp
application.
The new prototype will have a
significantly higher mean
efficiency score than
WhatsApp application.
Table 2. Hypothesis 1

Hypothesis For Mean Effectiveness
Score
difference in the mean
effectiveness scores between
the new prototype and
significantly higher mean
effectiveness score than

Hypothesis For Satisfaction
Score
difference in the satisfaction
scores between the new
prototype and WhatsApp
application.
significantly higher satisfaction
score than WhatsApp
application.

Dependent Variable/Independent Variable
Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Type of application
(Conditions = WhatsApp and
Interactive Prototype
Application.)
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Satisfaction
Table 4. Variables

Data Collection
Dataset for Initial & Final Experiments
• For initial experiment total 5 participants were selected (3
males & 2 females) aged between 55-70. All participants
performed 8 tasks on both WhatsApp and Facebook
Messenger applications. Problems identified were noted.
• For final experiment, total 50 participants are selected to
perform a controlled experiment on Interactive Prototype
Application and WhatsApp to measure the performance in
terms of task completion time, task completion rate, and
user satisfaction.
.
ID Age &
Gende
r
Level
of
Educati
on
Experi
ence
with
social
apps
P1 60 ,
male MA
1-3
years
P2 57,
female BA
2-3
years
P3 58,
male M.Sc
1-3
years
P4 59,
female Interm
ediate
1
year
P5 65,
male Interm
ediate
1-3
years
Table 5. Participants Profile

Experiment Tasks
No. Tasks
T1 Create a new group
T2 Delete a group chat
T3 Send a message to a contact
T4 Call a contact
T5 Delete a conversation
T6 Leave the group
T7 Edit a saved contact
T8 Change the font size of the App/chat
Table 6. Tasks

Proposed Interactive Prototype
Video

Proposed Interactive Prototype Interfaces
Fig 2. Home Screen/
Chats Panel
Fig 3. Delete Chat
option

Fig 4. Groups Panel Fig 5. Delete Group
Chat option

Fig 6. Leave Group
option
Fig 7. New Group
screen

Fig 8. Edit a contact
screen
Fig 9. New Message
screen

Fig 10. Changing font
size within
chat
Fig 11. Changing font
size 0f App

Fig 12. Emergency
Contact screen
Fig 13. Calls panel

Fig 14. Chat Summ-
arization
button
Fig 15. Tutorials
screen

Heuristic Evaluation
Button
Sum is
confusi
ng
Delete
chat
button
Some
aspects
not
visible
Focus on
recogni-tion
Aesthetic
not
appealing
Not
flexible
for
elderly
Help
and
Docum
entatio
n
E1 * * *
E2 * * *
E3 * * * *
Table 7. Issues-Evaluators Matrix

Results
Efficiency (Task Completion Time)
Fig 16. Mean task completion time per task

Results
Effectiveness (Task Completion Rate)
Fig 17. Mean Task Completion rate

Results
Effectiveness (Task Completion Rate)
Table 8. Task completion rate dataset
Tasks Tasks definition Task completion rate (%)
WhatsApp Prototype
T1 Create a new group 82 90
T2 Delete a group chat 88 100
T3 Send a message to a contact 40 70
T4 Call a contact 90 90
T5 Delete a conversation 96 100
T6 Leave the group 96 100
T7 Edit a saved contact 76 85
T8 Change the font size of the App/chat 75 90

Results
Satisfaction Evaluation(SUS Questionnaire)
• SUS Questionnaire was chosen to measure the user satisfaction. It is good and adaptable. We
modified some questions in terms of accessibility as we are measuring accessibility of prototype
through this questionnaire.
• The SUS questionnaire evaluation dataset consisted of the participants’ ratings for the ten
questions related to the two artefacts (WhatsApp vs Prototype).
• Questions are marked within scale range of 1-5 from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. We
measured the consistency between the related sets of items of this questionnaire through
Cronbach Alpha Test.
• The alpha coefficient for 50 items for our questionnaires are 0.70 for WhatsApp and 0.734 for
interactive prototype, which suggests that the items have high internal consistency for
interactive prototype application questionnaire.

Results
Satisfaction Evaluation(SUS Questionnaire)
.
Cronbach’s
Alpha for
WhatsApp
Cronbach’s
Alpha for IP
Cronbach’s
Alpha based on
standardized
items
N of Items
.70 .734 .725 10
Table 8. Reliability Statistics for WhatsApp & IP Cronbach Alpha Test

Paired Sample T-test on Mean Efficiency
Score
Mean N std.
Deviation
std. Error
Mean
Pair 1 WhatsApp 155.43 50 34.15 4.830
IP 99.47 50 4.97 .702
Table 9. Paired Samples Statistics
Paired Differences Significance
Mean St.Dev Std.
Error
Mean
t df One-
sided
p
two-
sided
p
Pair 1 WA -
IP
55.96 33.92 4.79 11.66 49 <.001 <.001
Table 10. Paired Sample Test for Mean Efficiency Score
WA-> WhatsApp
IP-> Interactive
prototype

Paired Sample T-test on Mean Effectiveness
Score
Mean N std.
Deviation
std. Error
Mean
Pair 1 WhatsApp 88.10 50 11.37 1.609
IP 99.47 50 4.97 .702
Mean St.Dev Std.
Error
Mean
t df One-
sided
p
two-
sided
p
Pair 1 WA -
IP
11.37 12.73 1.80 -6.31 49 <.001 <.001
Table 12. Paired Sample Test for Mean Effectiveness Score
WA-> WhatsApp
IP-> Interactive
prototype

Paired Sample T-test on Mean Satisfaction
Score
Mean N std.
Deviation
std. Error
Mean
Pair 1 WhatsApp 30.80 50 4.41 .624
IP 73.75 50 3.20 .453
Mean St.Dev Std.
Error
Mean
t df One-
sided
p
two-
sided
p
Pair 1 WA -
IP
-42.95 1.21 0.171 -54.06 49 <.001 <.001
Table 14. Paired Sample Test for Mean Satisfaction Score
WA-> WhatsApp
IP-> Interactive
prototype

Conclusion
• We identified real-time problems faced by the participants during initial experiment & through
literature review. Majority of the problems were non-text buttons, color contrasts, complex
navigation and interface, typing issues on dark backgrounds, features, understanding the content,
remembering the functions etc.
• Designed & developed a framework-based Interactive Prototype Application for Elderly Users.
• We have observed and identified with this research that the problems that elderly face while
interacting with different social media applications can be resolved by applying some of the
Mobile Applications Design Guidelines and WCAG 2.0 Guidelines.
• The developed prototype enhanced the accessibility for elderly users by providing simple and
easy to use interfaces which can not only reduce the loneliness of elderly people but also helpful
in staying in touch with their loved ones.
• Furthermore, task completion time, task completion rate, & satisfaction are tested by Paired
samples t-test. The results of tests rejects all three null hypothesis which proves that both
interfaces are not equal.
MS Thesis Defense by Faiza Latif, Jan 10, 2024 ,Department of Computer Science,

Future Work
In future, to advance the framework's applicability, it's suggested to transform the
prototype into a fully functional launcher app for commercial use. Once the
launcher app is released, feedback from elderly users can be gathered to further
refine the launcher's UI in a subsequent release. Additionally, encouraging other
researchers and designers to utilize the framework for designing social media
applications UIs for elderly users would be beneficial. Their feedback will provide
additional validation of the framework's clarity, comprehensibility, and the
effectiveness of its embedded design guidelines. Also, Large sample size should be
taken to further generalize the results.
MS Thesis Defense by Faiza Latif, Jan 10, 2024 ,Department of Computer Science,

References
• [1] O. Susskaya and A. Budanova, “Social aspects of human-computer interactions in the media: tendencies and threats,” Sep. 2019, pp. 1–7. doi: 10.1145/3373722.3373788.
• [3] M. Coto, F. Lizano, S. Mora, and J. Fuentes, “Social Media and Elderly People: Research Trends,” Sep. 2017, pp. 65–81. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-58562-8_6.
• [5] G. Gomes, C. Duarte, J. Coelho, and E. Matos, “Designing a Facebook Interface for Senior Users,” The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2014, p. 741567, 2014, doi: 10.1155/2014/741567.
• [6] C. D. de Oliveira, M. L. Fioravanti, R. P. de Mattos Fortes, and E. F. Barbosa, “Accessibility in mobile applications for elderly users: a systematic mapping,” 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE),
pp. 1–9, 2018
• [10] M. Momeni, N. Hariri, M. Nobahar, and F. Noshinfard, “Barriers and Challenges Experienced by Seniors in Using Online Social Networks: A Phenomenological Study,” Middle East Journal of Rehabilitation
and Health, vol. 5, no. 1, p. e65310, 2018, doi: 10.5812/mejrh.65310.
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369–378, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2014.02.041.
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• [16] M. Farage, K. Miller, F. Ajayi, and D. Hutchins, “Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults,” Glob J Health Sci, vol. 4, pp. 2–25, Sep. 2012, doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v4n2p2.
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• [33] H. Salman, W. F. Wan Ahmad, and S. Sulaiman, “A design framework of a smartphone user interface for elderly users,” Univers Access Inf Soc, vol. 22, pp. 1–21, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.1007/s10209-021-00856-6.
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MS Thesis Defense by Faiza Latif, Jan 10, 2024 , Department of Computer Science,,

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