Tablets are Easier to Read for Older Adults: Study

Technology and old people don't mix, as the older generation generally tends to have certain fears regarding technology.  But it looks like the older adults are slowly progressing to convert into tech savvies like the younger ones. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University have found that the older people find it easier to read on tablets than on print or the computer.

This conclusion comes from a comprehensive study that was carried out to measure the brain power (neural effort) required by readers when reading the text on three different types of media: paper, e-book readers and backlit devices such as tablets.

Before the study, nearly 21 older adults belonging to the age group of 60-77 and 36 younger participants of the age group 21-34 reported their preference for reading paper. But in the study, they found that that the older people read with ease on tablets than on paper.

On measuring the brain power, the young readers had similar eye movements and EEG for all the three media. But it was different in the older readers. They had a lower brain activity while reading text from a tablet when compared to the other two medias. While reading content from the tablet, they managed to complete the page three to four seconds faster.

The study's conclusion: The effect is "likely due to better text discrimination on the backlit displays." The backlight increases the contrast between the text and background, reports Consumer Report.

Statistics according to Pew's Internet & American Life Project state that in August 2012, nearly 27 percent of the American adults between the age group 50-64 and 13 percent of the adults who were more than 65 years owned a tablet computer.

The study was published in PLoS ONE.