Chui Yin Wong International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI), Volume (2) : Issue (2) : 2011 65 Exploring the Relationship Between Mobile Phone and Senior Citizens: A Malaysian Perspective Chui Yin Wong cywong@mmu.edu.my Interface Design Department, Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract There is growing ageing phenomena with the rise of ageing population throughout the world. According to the World Health Organization (2002), the growing ageing population indicates 694 million, or 223% is expected for people aged 60 and over, since 1970 and 2025.The growth is especially significant in some advanced countries such as North America, Japan, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom and so forth. This growing older adult population has significantly impact the social-culture, lifestyle, healthcare system, economy, infrastructure and government policy of a nation. However, there are limited research studies on the perception and usage of a mobile phone and its service for senior citizens in a developing nation like Malaysia. This paper explores the relationship between mobile phones and senior citizens in Malaysia from the perspective of a developing country. We conducted an exploratory study using contextual interviews with 18 senior citizens of how they perceive their mobile phones. This paper reveals 4 interesting themes from this preliminary study, in addition to the findings of the desirable mobile requirements for local senior citizens with respect of health, safety and communication purposes. The findings of this study bring interesting insight to local telecommunication industries as a whole, and will also serve as groundwork for more in-depth study in the future. Keywords: Mobile Phone, Senior Citizens, Ageing Population. 1. INTRODUCTION Owning a Personal Computer (PC) at home and electronic gadgets such as a mobile phone in our daily lives have become indispensable tools for all folks of lives. According to ITU statistics (2010) [1], the global mobile phone subscriptions have shown a phenomenal growth of a total of 4.7 billion in 2009 as compared to 1.4 billion in 2003. This rapid development in mobile sector has been able to change the ICT landscape. Mobile phone is claimed as the most popular and widespread personal technology on the planet. This is especially so for the urban population. However, the rural areas are slowly being introduced to new technologies as well. There is also a growing ageing population of 694 million, or 223% growth is expected for people aged 60 and over, since 1970 and 2025 as stated by World Health Organization (2002) [2]. In the United Nations’ Demographic Yearbook (2005) [3], the percentage of those aged over 65 range from 6% to 16%. By 2030, the percentages are estimated to range from 17% to 29% (Fisk et. al., 2009). This group of older adults is the fastest growing population, and the majority of them live in the developed world. In addition, the older adult population over the age of 60 is expected to reach 1.2 billion in 2025; by 2050, there will be 2 billion with 80% of them living in the developing countries [2]. Having said this, Asia is described as the world’s most rapidly ageing region. Due to longer life expectancies and falling birth rates, Asia is rapidly getting older. By year 2050, Asia will be home to almost two-thirds of the world’s population of people over 60 [4]. Developing nations like Malaysia has also shown a sign of declining population growth rate due to several reasons such as getting married at an older age, and with fewer children [5]. According to the United Nation, the proportion of Malaysia’s population aged 65 and above is projected to reach 7.1% in 2020 [6]. Often attributed to the United Nation, a society with 65 and above groups that accounts