My City Counselor: Enhancing Social Interactions of the Elderly

This thesis presents the design of an interactive tool to improve elders’ social interactions. First, we studied the social interactions of the elderly. These interactions often diminish as elders experience dynamic physical, social, and cognitive decline. We examined how technology might extend these diminishing social interactions. We looked for the ways to minimize the technological barriers faced by the elderly in order to more easily integrate the technology into their lives.

The final design focused on social interaction through travel and knowledge of a place. It is a service called ‘My City Counselor’, which allows elders to share their knowledge about local places they know well. This tool is designed to support the elderly in building new relationships or in maintaining close existing relationships by providing useful local information or by sharing common memories.