Making technology easy to use for the older generation, as trustable as their good old friend!

Have you ever recharged your mother’s phone via PayTM? Are you the one who pays all the online bills of the family? Well, then you also belong to the tech-savvy age that we are in. But what about our parents? The older generation is still dependant on us, the tech-savvy ones, for all their online transactions. They still trust the traditional ways of performing tasks, because either they don’t know how to use the new technology or they don’t trust it enough. So, the problem is both a rider problem as well as an elephant problem.

According to a 2015 Pew Research Centre survey, only 26% of internet users aged 65 and over feel very confident when using computers, smartphones or other electronic devices. Where majority of the companies are targeting the tech-savvy for products, the challenge for our generation is how to make the older generation trust technology and make it easier for them to use?

The solutions can be multiple, some addressing the rider problem and teaching the older generation how to use technology; or, addressing the elephant problem by resolving their trust issues. Let us first try and solve the rider problem – explain to the older generation how to use the new technology. We will be able to entail trust in the older generation only after they know the uses of the new technology and are aware of the ease of use. Let us try and make technology as easy to understand as watching a movie and as trustworthy as their good old friend.

The problem with technology is that most elder generation people find the new age apps very complex to use. It can be solved by a simplistic solution – create a simple app, solves the purpose and removes complexity from the system. So, going against the technical world of aggregators, I propose to simplify technology, so that it becomes easier to understand for the older generation – an app called “EasyPayments”. It will have minimum features, just those which get the job done.

Before – After Story Board

Before – The grandmother does not know how to use the smartphone properly. She is upset as she is unable to recharge her phone. Since it is pre-paid, she is unable to call her son to get her phone recharged. Now, she will have to visit the local store for restoring her balance.

After – The grandmother’s phone balance is over. Instead of calling her son, she goes to the simple app “EasyPayments” and enters her phone number. With one click, her phone is recharged, and she is happily chatting away with her son on the phone.

Looks-like Prototype

The above wireframe of the app "EasyPayments" shows a simple Graphic User Interface for a simplistic app, with limited features. It does the job it is meant for, it is easy to understand and easy to use for people of any generation. Its simple design removes the complexity of the existing apps and helps the older generation to make one-click payments in a simple way

One – day low-cost solution

The experiment will be to conduct a one-day experiment, with a group of 30 old-aged people, who have never used an E-wallet application. It will try to test the challenges that people face via making a simple payment via an E-wallet.

Stage 1: Ask the following questions:

1.     Have you ever heard of E-wallets? Have you ever tried using it?

2.     What are your apprehensions with using E-wallets?

3.     Would you like to try an easier method?

Stage2: Since many of them will not have any E-wallet setup, help them download our app “EasyPayments” and upload their ID for KYC.

Next, I shall transfer Rs.10 to one of the participants. Now, conduct an exercise where those Rs.10 will be transferred via a chain-reaction to the entire room, with every person transferring money to the person sitting to their right. The last person transfers back the money to me. This way, all of them have had their very first transaction on a platform.

Stage 3: Conduct a survey among the participants and ask them about their experience. Note down the challenges they faced and all the positives and negatives that they felt about the app. Ask them if they liked the ease of the process, clarify their doubts and if they would link their bank account with the app.

This experiment will test the hypothesis of whether the existing applications are complex to use for the old generation, and whether the generation trusts this new technology. The cost of the entire experiment is very low as it only includes booking a room and approaching people to participate in this experiment. This will also be a learning experience for the participants as they try something new, and out of their comfort zone.

The success of the experiment is based on two parameters: first, it is based on the number of people who would agree to link their bank account with the app after the experiment, and second, it is based on our insights of why the older generation has issues with the new technology. This insight can be used to develop a simplistic app, which addresses the concerns of the generation and mitigates the problems associated with the fancy complex technology of our age.

Since solving trust issues is a gradual process, we can start with a small solution within our families. Let us start with having our parents try out a simple app for small transactions. This is the key area where they have major concerns related to fraud and loss. If we can ensure that they start using some part of technology, then only we can expect them to build a habit around it gradually. Let us take up the role of a teacher and make technology user-friendly for our parents’ generation!