Background research - Mohtar et al. (2022)

Introduction

Previous studies: There is scant research with regards to middle aged and older adults within the topic of mobile technology.

Age range: This literature defines middle age as being 40 to 60 years old.

Goal of the study: To understand how mobile learning can be implemented for middle aged adults in research.

Physical capabilities of middle aged and older adults

Physical

Slower reaction time

Cognitive

Brain functioning is no longer at its peak level. Some adults at this age may start to show signs of memory loss, dementia, and some issues with language, attention, and visuospatial abilities.

Lifestyle

Active lifestyle

Mohtar et al. (2022) points out that middle aged and older adults lead a very active lifestyle. Self-development is an area of focus particularly in the areas of spiritual, emotional, and physical well being.

The literature review also states that this age cohort uses mobile technology to keep their mind and body active.

Methodology and Results

Mohtar et al. (2022) did a systematic literature review of peer reviewed journal articles. The review resulted in four themes for future research studies to focus on. For the purpose of this project, only three themes are applicable and they are outlined below.

Theme 1: Skill and Knowledge Development

Knowledge improvement is still a priority while balancing other life events like death of a friend or relative, and changes in income. Middle aged adults also juggle maintaining their health and some also have concerns about the changes in their physical appearance.

Theme 2: Mobile and learning application and mutimedia

There is a need to design applications with appropriate text size, images, icons, and animation for middle-aged adults.

Mohtar et al. (2022) also explained the need for middle-aged adults to improve their motivation to learn and improve their performance in vocabulary memorization.

Theme 3: Mobile learning application and quick assessment

The common quiz site like Kahoot does not support learning in adult learners. Future work needs to focus on developing gamification that allows for easy assessment when self-monitoring learning progress.

What's next?

Based on the three themes collected, I chose to further explore theme 1 which pertains to skill and knowledge development. There is scant research and development on apps targeted towards middle aged and older adults. Since Mohtar et al. (2022) often mentioned self- development amongst this age cohort, I chose to explore the possibility of reimagining the future of fitness apps. Read further to find more about research supporting active ageing in a low income community in Brazil. Click on the fitness apps button below to continue reading.

Fitness apps

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