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This paper investigates qualitatively what happens when couples facing a spectrum of options must arrive at consensual choices together. We conducted an observational study of couples experiencing memory concerns (one or both) while the partners engaged in the process of reviewing and selecting “Safety Setting” options for online activities. Couples’ choices tended to be influenced by a desire to secure shared assets through mutual surveillance and a desire to preserve autonomy by granting freedom in social and personal activities. The availability of choice suits the uneven and unpredictable process of memory loss and couples’ acknowledged uncertainty about its trajectory, leading them to anticipate changing Safety Settings as one or both of them experience further cognitive decline. Reflecting these three decision drivers, we conclude with implications for a design system that offers flexibility and adaptability in variety of settings, accommodates the uncertainty of memory loss, preserves autonomy, and supports collaborative management of shared assets.
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Building for ‘We’: Safety Settings for Couples with Memory Concerns
Designing technologies that support the mutual cybersecurity and autonomy of older adults facing cognitive challenges requires close collaboration of partners. As part of research to design a Safety Setting application for older adults with memory loss or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), we use a scenario-based participatory design. Our study builds on previous findings that couples’ approach to memory loss was characterized by a desire for flexibility and choice, and an embrace of role uncertainty. We find that couples don't want a system that fundamentally alters their relationship and are looking to maximize self-surveillance competence and minimize loss of autonomy for their partners. All desire Safety Settings to maintain their mutual safety rather than designating one partner as the target of oversight. Couples are open to more rigorous surveillance if they have control over what types of activities trigger various levels of oversight.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1714514
- PAR ID:
- 10291218
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 11
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Older adults are rapidly increasing their use of online services such as banking, social media, and email - services that come with subtle and serious security and privacy risks. Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are particularly vulnerable to these risks because MCI can reduce their ability to recognize scams such as email phishing, follow recommended password guidelines, and consider the implications of sharing personal information. Older adults with MCI often cope with their impairments with the help of caregivers, including partners, children, and professional health personnel, when using and managing online services. Yet, this too carries security and privacy risks: sharing personal information with caregivers can create issues of agency, autonomy, and even risk embarrassment and information leakage; caregivers also do not always act in their charges' best interest. Through a series of interviews conducted in the US, we identify a spectrum of safeguarding strategies used and consider them through the lens of 'upside and downside risk' where there are tradeoffs between reduced privacy and maintaining older adults' autonomy and access to online services.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445071
