Understanding the Use of Voice Assistants by Older Adults
This research addresses the adoption of voice assistants by older adults, an incremental study focusing on qualitative insights for this specific demographic.
The study investigated how older adults use and learn to use smart speakers through qualitative interviews with four participants, finding that they benefit from smart speakers as assistive and social technologies and that formal, communal learning environments lead to successful adoption.
Older adults are using voice-based technologies in a variety of different contexts and are uniquely positioned to benefit from smart speakers' handsfree, voice-based interface. In order to better understand the ways in which older adults engage with and learn how to use smart speakers, we conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with four older adults who own smart speakers. Emerging findings indicate that older adults benefit from smart speakers as both an assistive and a social technology. Findings also suggest that when older adults learn new technologies in a formal, communal environment there is successful adoption.