Digital Communities for Older Adults Deploying Human-Centered Technologies for Super-Smart Society

Abstract

Today’s super-smart society, it is expected that everyone can easily use new devices, functions and services, and benefit from advanced Information Technology. However, the information gap among Older Adults in the Internet society is becoming more pronounced as face-to-face communication is severely restricted in the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the reasons why it is difficult for older adults to access information utilizing information technology is because it is too complicated and difficult to create a mental model. We propose the realization of digital community using human-centered information technology, specifically, Ambient Computing and Calm Technology, to where older adults can utilize information technologies without stress, access necessary information, and communicate with each other. Older adults can improve their quality of life by utilizing their own abilities as providers of support through digital community.