A Study of the Factors Affecting the Usability of Smart Phone Screen Protectors for the Elderly

The issues arising from ageing societies have received worldwide attention. Many studies have pointed out that mobile technology can positively assist the elderly with smartphones being the most prevalent. The low sensitivity of finger touch and the slow response of a smartphone’s interface may affect the finger coordination and stability of the elderly on the touch screen interface. A large number of studies suggest that the sense of touch can provide smartphone users to experience richer interaction than audio visual communications alone. Therefore, the reason for using the four different smartphone screen protector materials (Anti-Smudge (AS), Anti-Smudge and Glare (ASG), Blue Light Cut (BLC), and Tempered Glass (TG)) for this experiment on smartphone users aged 50 and above. Each material is scored with a usability evaluation method in order to obtain the superior screen protector in regards to usability for the elderly. The results from the experiments found that TG was the most suitable for elderly, followed by ASG, and then AS. It also showed that the thickness of the smartphone screen protectors do not affect elderly users when manipulating the screen surface. However, smooth surfaced, matte touch material with a translucent visual exterior seems to be the most suitable for elderly smartphone users.