A Survey of Technology Accessibility Problems Faced by Older Users in China

摘要

Internet accessibility for older users has become an important issue to promote inclusion and participation in the Information Society. In this paper, we propose an investigation into the technology accessibility problems faced by the elderly in China. We have conducted the research by means of an exploratory survey with a Web-based questionnaire and held discussions with older users at meetings. The study had 180 valid answers and involved representatives from each of the 25 provinces of China. The results show that 39% of the participants cannot or can only partially access information because of all kinds of accessibility problems in China. Many participants indicated that the main problems in the getting on the Internet were the health barrier, the circumstance barrier, and the Internet design barrier. The possible reason for these difficulties could be that the government doesn't foster a social environment conducive to helping the elderly get online, and that it does not provide services for the elderly designed to help them access information electronically. The poor rate of industry accessibility for the elderly, as well as the lack of the Chinese accessibility laws, is an important issue that must be dealt with to promote greater Internet accessibility for the elderly.