Small Surfaces

An excellent piece of research from Nokia about illiterate (or as they say, “non-literate”) phone users. It’s a perspective that’s important to be reminded of.

“Our first observation is that our textually non-literate participants lead more predictable lives than more literate counterparts from other studies. There are multiple explanations for this, one being is that our textually non-literate participants had limited disposable income since they were largely only able to obtain entry level manual work which paid relatively little. Disposable income provides options increasing the range of what is on offer. The second reason can explained by thinking about the acceptable amount of effort required to complete a given task. Choosing a dish from a restaurant menu requires asking the restaurant staff or literate fellow diners what is on offer. Sometimes this is fine, but multiply this task for every time literacy is a barrier and it soon begins to grate on the person to the point where it is easier to simply make the same choices time and again. In a world of words and numbers literacy opens up a world of easier options.

“Our second observation is that textually non-literate users can complete tasks requiring a degree of textual literacy, but these tasks typically take considerably longer to complete. Being asked to fill in a form at work may take a literate person five minutes – whereas for a textually non-literate person it becomes an overnight task involving the availability of a literate relative or friendly neighbour. This is sometimes called ‘proximate literacy’ – the ability to rely on others who either are sufficiently competent in using the device, or are literate and can take the user through the steps requiring textual understanding. For example, one participant in India sent text messages via her literate daughter and required her daughter to understand the responses. Families or even whole villages may share the use of a single mobile phone [15,16]. The obvious reason for this is the cost of ownership and use, but also because in societies where fixed line penetration is limited the mobile phone is the first phone available to them [16].

“Our third observation is that there is a ‘parallel universe’ of cues that are visible if only you know how to see it. Bank notes are a good example in that they are required to be usable by all members of society, and provide multiple cues to their authenticity and value. While you might be thinking of print quality and watermarks, our non-literate participants picked up on texture (China) and scent (India, for 500 rupee notes) of the notes [10,11]. What additional cues can our devices offer that are not noticeable by literate users?

“Fourth – with sufficient application of intellect and memory, rote learning can be used to memorize the steps needed to carry out most tasks. However, rote learning is not understanding, and when things go wrong, understanding is often required to solve the problem. Remember that the used/shared mobile phone and network may be less reliable, and problems are more likely to arise.

“Lastly, a number of our participants worked very long hours with little or no holiday time. Who has the greater need for personal, convenient synchronous and asynchronous communication? – someone working 9 to 5, 5 days a week, or someone working 5 to 9, 7 days per week? The potential benefits of a mobile for this user group should not be underestimated.”

Link: Understanding Non-Literacy as a Barrier to Mobile Phone Communication