I would say that I take most shifts in the way web technology operates in stride. The current wave of AJAX and other similar recent additions to the web developers arsenal which are increasingly used in the development of web based applications has caused me to shift slightly toward looking for web based tools rather than desktop applications to meet my needs. Things just seem to be less clunky than they once were. I have also noticed, however, that not everyone can take the change as easily as I have. My In-laws, for example, rely on me to provide most of their technical support. This includes teaching them (repeatedly) to use the various techno-gadgets that they seem to get from my family for all types of occasions(most recently we swapped the regular digital cable box for a HD DVR.) Despite the need for constant tutoring I would consider them both to be well above average in navigating their computers, considering they are in their 70s.

The other day I was watching my mother-in-law as she attempted to reserve a hotel room online. Normally she does this over the phone but she has gradually shifted to researching online. I applaud her for this! I observed that she tries to operate websites just like she would a desktop application. Every click must be a double-click! This, naturally causes a multitude of problems. The thing that surprised me in this particular instance was how much, supposedly, improved site features threw her off. As with most large websites, the developers want to “improve the user experience.” In the case of the website she was using this included having property information pop up when hovering over a hotel’s name in a list of search results. She was expecting to click(double of course) on a link that would bring her to a new page. Instead, she became disoriented when something that she did not specifically request was suddenly forced into her view. At a couple of points I took over the mouse and did some navigation to get her to where she needed to be and then she was able to complete the transaction. The things that were designed to make using that website easier had the opposite affect on my mother-in-law.

My question is this. Should we be taking the older generations into account when developing website navigation? Or should we expect them to keep up with things that change at an alarming rate, in a world in which they can just barely understand? A website that seems perfectly user friendly to me (and even to my very young children) can send those expecting things to be the way things were before straight over the edge.