When I present web accessibility, there are always a few people sharing their honest opinion: “Accessibility isn’t really relevant to me - I don’t have a disability”.
In the beginning, I used to think that the best response was to explain all the different barriers that people with disabilities can face online or talk about situational disabilities. But lately I try another approach: there is one thing none of us can avoid - we are getting older and, as we age, our abilities can change.
Our eyesight may not be quite what it was. Small text can become harder to read, and low contrast can become much more tiring.
Our hearing can change too. Following a video with background noise or understanding information that is provided only through audio can become more difficult.
Fine motor control can change, making tiny buttons or precise interactions more frustrating.
And sometimes we simply need more time to process information, remember where we are on a website, or figure out what a complicated interface is asking us to do.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone who gets older will experience all of these changes - ageing is different for everyone.
But it does mean something important: our abilities aren’t fixed.
Accessibility isn’t about designing a special version of the web for “people with disabilities” or “old people”, instead it is about making the web work for people with different abilities, in different situations, at different moments in their lives.
You probably already benefit from accessible design, here are some examples:
Using captions while watching a video.
Increasing the text size because you’re tired.
Struggling to tap a tiny button.
Using voice input because your hands are busy.
Here are some interesting facts to think about:
By 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be 60 or older. By 2050, that number is expected to reach around 2.1 billion people.
Age-related changes in vision can include reduced contrast sensitivity, changes in colour perception and difficulty focusing on things close up - all of which can affect how someone experiences a website.
In the WHO European Region, around 190 million people live with hearing loss or deafness.
More than 2.5 billion people worldwide need one or more assistive products today. The WHO estimates that this could rise to 3.5 billion by 2050.
Accessibility is not something we do for other people. We are designing for people who have different needs from us today and we are also designing for ourselves tomorrow.
