Commentary
Reach Boomers Online--the Right Way!
- by Dan Solomon , October 16, 2006
While not as tech-savvy as their Gen X children (or grandchildren), they are adopting computers and the Internet as fast as the population overall (and far faster than their older, already retired counterparts). They cut their digital teeth at work using e-mail--but bring it home and use it for personal pursuits, keeping in touch with distant friends and relations and researching all manner of issues from health care to hobbies.
This enormous generation, born between 1946 and 1964, presents wonderful online opportunities for nonprofit organizations as well as businesses But failing to reach out to them the right way can have very serious consequences--in legal terms as well as in lost opportunities.
Aging & Ailing
Experts who track these things disagree on how many of these aging baby boomers have Internet access, but they do agree it's a sizable proportion, numbering in the tens of millions. In the spring of 2005, The Harris Poll found that Americans aged 50-64 made up 29 percent of the online adult population. That translates into 47 million of the 163 million American adults online then.
Boomers are bringing to their online experience, however, a growing list of ailments and physical limitations that affect how--and how successfully-- they use e-mail, the Web and other online pursuits. Succumbing to the creeping limitations of old age, baby boomers are beginning to struggle with the small type, short text links and tiny selection boxes that characterize all too many Web pages; they are finding the mouse painfully similar to a mousetrap.
While these ailments, coupled with poor and unthinking Web design, impede growing numbers of baby boomers from making full use of the Internet, they are not likely to keep boomers offline.
In retirement, "boomers are likely to read the news online, instant message, and before the recording industry crackdown, many happily traded must files online," says Susannah Fox, an associate director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. "Many boomers are, as usual, embracing new things and not letting go."
Boomers and their increasing need for assistance to make the most of their online experiences signal to organizations of all kinds that they must pay attention to both Web usability and online accessibility. (Accessibility is about equal access to all users, no matter their physical limitations; usability is about ease of use.)
Accessibility Is the Law
Recent studies of the workforce suggest that many baby boomers may not want to retire fully, and employers may not want them to as they face labor shortages caused by declining birth rates and increasing retirement rates.
What this means for employers, especially in information, technical and scientific fields where the labor shrinkage will be felt soon, is that they will have to make accommodations for the physical limitations of these willing, and even essential, workers. Economic necessity will require it, and so will the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination against workers age 40 and older. While there can be no doubt about the wisdom of making an organization's online presence accessible to all baby boomers by making adjustments to accommodate those with physical limitations, the issue goes beyond good sense and creating loyal users (supporters, donors, subscribers and clients): It's the law.
Early in September 2006, a federal appeals court judge in California ruled that Target Corporation violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because its Web site was not accessible to the blind. The court rejected Target's argument that only its physical stores were covered by civil rights laws; it ruled instead that all services provided by Target, including its Web site, must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
The lawsuit against Target, brought by the National Federation of the Blind, focused on problems with the company's Web site at www.target.com, including the requirement that visitors use a mouse to complete a transaction. For anyone with arthritis or a severe repetitive stress disorder, that design requirement could preclude them from using the site.
Too Many to Ignore
Because of the sheer size of their generation, boomers retain the economic, political and social clout they have always enjoyed. And existing laws, particularly the ADA, mean that government agencies, businesses and other organizations must give aging baby boomers the same level of access as younger, healthier users.
In light of the Target ruling, it is imperative that organizations that sell products or provide services online take a good, long professional look at their Web sites, e-mail offerings and interactive communications--and determine whether they put the organization at any kind of legal risk.
A number of software products purport to provide this service at a low cost, but they only catch about one-quarter of the errors. Can your organization afford the legal risk of missing three-quarters of the accessibility errors on your site? We don't think so either.
