Buddy4All – A Platform to Connect Generations

Abstract: Seniors are frequently affected by a decline in cognitive and physical fitness. Apart from that they often feel lonely due to lack of social contacts or have the feeling of not being needed anymore since their children and grandchildren are already grown up. They often do not participate in social life as they used to but still would like to get in contact with the younger generation to pass on their life experience. On the other hand, younger adults – especially from non-stable or low-income families often struggle with school and a lack of role models. They still struggle with the negative effects Covid-19 had on their social life as well as on their mental health and still have to catch up with schoolwork. The number of younger adults suffering from depression rose drastically during the pandemic. On top of all that, tutoring is often expensive, and they do not trust adults to talk about their personal problems – especially related to their mental health. The Buddy4All platform targets these problems via an innovative Mixed Reality (MR) solution. Its intent is to build a bridge between the two generations. A social app provides helpful information for younger and older adults about their topics of interest. Further, it helps to overcome the first fears to get in contact with the other generation. Younger and older adults can help each other with everyday problems like homework or setting up a TV. Younger adults get the possibility to build trustful relationships to grownups and seniors can pass their life experience to younger adults and keep themselves socially included. An MR-application further provides games that can be played together as well as cognitive exercises for both target groups, to keep them cognitively fit but also to enhance skills like concentration. Based on a user-centered approach this platform has been tested in three workshops with end-users. This work details the results and comparisons of the second and third end-user workshop.

Keywords: Mixed Reality, Cognitive Training, Location-Based Games, Intergenerational Support

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005127

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