An emerging topic in robot design and scholarly research is socially assistive robots for senior citizens. Compared to robots in other sectors, SARs can augment their assistive-utilitarian functions by offering social, emotional, and cognitive support to seniors. This study draws upon interviews with 45 senior citizens to understand this group’s expectations for human-robot interactions and their anticipated needs for robots. Our grounded theory analysis suggests that senior citizens expect robots to meet three types of needs: physical, informational, and interactional. Furthermore, (...) they seek assurances that they will have complete control over interactions with robots. Findings show that seniors’ mental models about robots are shaped by their recent experiences with advanced communications technologies and mediated representations of robots in popular culture. Findings are discussed in light of practical design considerations and two theoretical perspectives. (shrink)

An emerging topic in robot design and scholarly research is socially assistive robots for senior citizens. Compared to robots in other sectors, SARs can augment their assistive-utilitarian functions by offering social, emotional, and cognitive support to seniors. This study draws upon interviews with 45 senior citizens to understand this group’s expectations for human-robot interactions and their anticipated needs for robots. Our grounded theory analysis suggests that senior citizens expect robots to meet three types of needs: physical, informational, and interactional. Furthermore, (...) they seek assurances that they will have complete control over interactions with robots. Findings show that seniors’ mental models about robots are shaped by their recent experiences with advanced communications technologies and mediated representations of robots in popular culture. Findings are discussed in light of practical design considerations and two theoretical perspectives. (shrink)

Drawing upon uses and gratifications perspectives and socioemotional selectivity theory, this study examined the differences in the use of Facebook features among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Furthermore, it explored the association between Facebook activities and users’ perceived enjoyment for different age groups. An online survey was conducted with 647 Facebook users in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis identified four types of Facebook activities: broadcasting, directed communication, content consumption, and information regulation. The results revealed that younger users’ broadcasting, (...) content consumption, and information regulation activities substantially differed from those of older users. In addition, broadcasting and content consumption activities were more popular among younger users and more predictive of their enjoyment. Directed communication was more powerful in predicting middle-aged and older users’ enjoyment. However, younger and middle-aged users’ engagement with information regulation activities was negatively related to their enjoyment of Facebook. The study findings provide more nuanced knowledge regarding user experiences on social media platforms among specified age groups and practical insights into the improvement of social media by addressing their different needs. (shrink)