Barrier-free Internet: analysis of eye movement during Internet use by older employees

Status:

completed 02/2005

Aims:

The medium of the Internet is increasingly found in everyday situations. The design of web pages frequently neglects particular groups of users, such as older employees, who may differ in the way they perceive and process the information. A research project considered the best way of designing web pages. The study concentrated upon web pages dealing with occupational health and safety.

Activities/Methods:

A study was performed in which younger and older employees evaluated various web pages dealing with occupational health and safety. Eye movement was recorded during viewing of the pages, and the pages were assessed by the test subject following each viewing.

Results:

Contrary to anticipations, almost no significant differences were observed between older and younger individuals in use of the Internet pages. Overall, the study showed that a discriminating analysis of workplace design for older employees is important and that a blanket assumption of impaired performance in old age is not tenable.

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