What Seniors Value About Online Community

Abstract

Seniors are involved in online communities around the world. Human-computer interaction researchers have investigated how understanding the values of users can improve technology design, but until now few such investigations have involved systems for seniors. Similarly, although various aspects of networked communities have been researched, few studies have explored ones involving seniors. This interpretivist/constructivist study reveals what a particular community run by and expressly for seniors, value about their community. Of the six key social values identified, their single most important value was ‘belonging to a community of peers’. These values have implications for the design of online communities involving seniors.