Recently, China Consumer Association released the "Research Report on Aging App Consumption Supervision and Evaluation Project" pointing out that problems such as small fonts, many advertisements, and pop-up windows that are difficult to close often trouble "silver-haired netizens." In particular, some apps induce downloads or payments to varying degrees, and many elderly people have their money deducted without knowing it.
In recent years, the transformation of apps to adapt to aging has been accelerated. From seeking medical advice to food, clothing, housing and transportation, there are apps suitable for the elderly in many fields, which has increased the enthusiasm of the elderly to embrace the digital age. However, it is not difficult to find from the above-mentioned surveys and past reports that the problem of "following the form but not the heart" is also common. First, the old-adapted interface is pretentious. Only the home page has large fonts and icons, and the second and third-level interfaces are "returned to their original form." Second, pop-up ads cannot be turned off. No matter how simplified the interface is, ads always have a place. Third, version switching is too cumbersome. After the App is updated, you have to go through several rounds of settings in order to switch back to the old version. Over and over again, not only did it not provide convenience, but it created many new obstacles. Why did the age-appropriate transformation of
App change to "half-baked"? On the surface, it seems that they don’t understand old age. For a long time, many designers and product managers have been accustomed to the “young people’s perspective” and have not paid much attention to the needs of the elderly. But fundamentally it is still difficult to monetize. Compared with the "regular version" with fancy functions, the commercial value of the old version that can be quickly monetized seems to be limited. What's more, the current profit model of apps is mainly advertising and user payment. The age-appropriate requirements such as "no ads, no pop-ups, no induced buttons" are naturally contrary to this, and companies are naturally unwilling to give up the cake. But as everyone knows, many “clean” apps for the elderly have already gained a group of young fans before they were successfully accepted by the elderly. Isn't it more promising to acquire and retain customers by being "clean" and make money freely than by playing tricks? When
faced the blue ocean of and , it rushed forward and emphasized responsibility perfunctorily. This also reflects the lack of patience and mentality of some companies who just want to make quick money. But what needs to be made clear is that technology serves people and provides convenience rather than troubles. Especially with the endless emergence of new business formats and new models, the stage of Internet companies growing wildly and making money has passed. If you want to gain user support, you must strive for service quality and consumer experience. From this perspective, Internet companies strive to strike a balance between user experience and commercial interests, which is by no means an exclusive issue for senior-friendly apps. The vitality of
products lies in whether they see and respect the people who use the products. Aging-friendly renovation has long-term benefits and demonstrates humanistic care. Relevant companies should also remain patient and pay attention to details, so that the elderly can enjoy convenience and technology can be warm.
(original title: App suitable for the elderly, the shape is more careless)
Source: Beijing Daily reporter Gao Yuan
process editor: u099
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