Abstract
As global population ageing accelerates, virtual reality (VR) offers new opportunities to enhance older adults’ wellbeing, cultural participation, and social connection. Existing VR research concerning older adults has predominantly concentrated on medical or clinical applications. In contrast, this study investigates the potential affordances of VR for this population within cultural and entertainment domains. Through Participatory Design workshops with ten adults aged 60+ in UK, this study explores older adults’ user experience with VR and proposes recommendations for age-inclusive VR design. Results show that complex multi-step operations, dual-hand coordination, and complex menu structures create high cognitive load and reduce user confidence. Participants also faced sensory–perceptual challenges and reported limited access to VR in daily life, though they expressed strong interest in using VR for cultural and social engagement. The study also reflects on methodological challenges such as sampling bias and the early developmental stage of age-inclusive VR research.
Keywords
Age-inclusive Design, Virtual Reality, Digital Ageism, Digital inclusion
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2327
Citation
Pan, L., Wei, X., and Yin, Y. (2026) Designing Inclusive Virtual Reality Experiences for Older Adults: Enhancing Digital Engagement and Challenging Digital Ageism, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2327
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Designing Inclusive Virtual Reality Experiences for Older Adults: Enhancing Digital Engagement and Challenging Digital Ageism
As global population ageing accelerates, virtual reality (VR) offers new opportunities to enhance older adults’ wellbeing, cultural participation, and social connection. Existing VR research concerning older adults has predominantly concentrated on medical or clinical applications. In contrast, this study investigates the potential affordances of VR for this population within cultural and entertainment domains. Through Participatory Design workshops with ten adults aged 60+ in UK, this study explores older adults’ user experience with VR and proposes recommendations for age-inclusive VR design. Results show that complex multi-step operations, dual-hand coordination, and complex menu structures create high cognitive load and reduce user confidence. Participants also faced sensory–perceptual challenges and reported limited access to VR in daily life, though they expressed strong interest in using VR for cultural and social engagement. The study also reflects on methodological challenges such as sampling bias and the early developmental stage of age-inclusive VR research.