The effects of the user’s age in accepting and using online services.

Online services are becoming more popular from day to day. However, using online services is not always easy, especially when the user is an elder person. The purpose of this study was to find out, what determines technology acceptance and usability, how aging affects humans, and finally, how the user’s age affects the acceptance and use of online services. This study is motivated by the topic’s relevancy, because the popularity of online services and the number of aged people have both increased in recent years. The study was carried out as a literature review. The results revealed that technology acceptance is deter-mined by the user’s attitude, which is determined by perceived usefulness and ease of use. It was found out that usability is determined by many factors, which Nielsen’s heuristics summarize well. Furthermore, it was found out that aging affects humans in many ways physically, psychically and socially. The study suggests that safety and ease of use, social factors and perceptions of external control are especially important for elder people. Furthermore, the study discovered many factors, such as font size, sounds and clarity, which should be focused on when designing online services for elder people.