Exploring the Impact of Play: Designing for Well-being through Playful Digital Mediums for Older Adults in Thailand using the Human-Centered Design Process

Abstract

This thesis explores play and how we might design digital products for play. The concept of play is mainly studied in the context of children, and with older adults, play is often used as a mechanism to achieve specific goals and behaviors. In Thailand, the concept of play seems to permeate into different aspects of everyday life. The word play is used to describe actions that are, in Western culture, not typically viewed as playful; some examples are resting, gambling, and stock trading. Furthermore, with technology, internet access, and smartphones becoming more accessible to older Thai adults, I intend to investigate the intersection between play and technology.

Using iterative human-centered design processes, this study explores how older adults in Thailand play, if and how play impacts overall well-being, and how a playful digital product may be designed to serve their play and well-being needs.

Through interviews with target users, frameworks for well-being and play dimensions and personas that list each potential user’s context, needs, and challenges were created. A digital product concept was ideated, and an interactable playful digital prototype was designed to serve the users' needs.

Results suggested that the product can potentially serve the well-being and play needs of Thai older adults. Design improvements and further research are recommended to ensure that the findings in this research are applicable across different markets, geographies, and cultural contexts.