Might Older Adult Participants Have the Richest Technological Imagination of Us All?: Experience as the Material Basis of Imagination

This paper explores the role of experience in nurturing the technological imagination of ageing adults during the design and use of digital technologies. Participatory design (PD) approaches have been successful in including individuals with limited technological competence. However, this user group has been less involved in design phases related to implementation. This negatively affects their participation. To address this, we ask if there is something particular about their technological imagination to find ways to bring participants closer to the technical side of design. We report on a design process with older adults in Norway where we held weekly design workshops for ten months. We found that while ageing adults have vast experience, many have less experience with digital technologies. To nurture the technological imaginations of ageing adults, our findings highlight the need to provide relevant experiences with digital technologies in accordance with the requirements of the user group.