InMyDay: a study on input styles for a digital diary for older users

Abstract

Diary studies are used to gather user information in their natural context. Despite the advantages of digital diaries, older users are not able to fully benefit from them, e.g. due to decreased motor and cognitive abilities, and low digital skills. This work presents InMyDay, a digital diary application specifically designed and implemented for older users. The goal of this work is twofold: first, we research whether older users are able to record activities and reflect on their emotions using a digital diary. Then, using the results of this first phase, we implemented three input styles for the second version of the digital diary: voice, stylus, and keyboard. Overall, 23 older users participated in evaluations aimed at improving the design of the diary and understanding their input style preferences. We found that the older adults used the diary to reflect on their emotions, registering positive as well as negative emotions. We also found that the variety of choices in input styles helped the participants select the option most suited to their particular needs and preferences. Future work will focus on evaluating the digital diary over a longer period of time, to analyze variables such as long-term adoption and motivation, as well as trends in the selection of input styles.