  This paper reports on a study conducted as part of the EU EMPATHIC project,
whose goal is to develop an empathic virtual coach capable of enhancing
seniors' well-being, focusing on user requirements and expectations with
respect to participants' age and technology experiences (i.e. participants'
familiarity with technological devices such as smartphones, laptops, and
tablets). The data shows that seniors' favorite technological device is the
smartphone, and this device was also the one that scored the highest in terms
of easiness to use. We found statistically significant differences on the
preferences expressed by seniors toward the gender of the agents. Seniors
(independently from their gender) prefer to interact with female humanoid
agents on both the pragmatic and hedonic dimensions of an interactive system
and are more in favor to commit themselves in a long-lasting interaction with
them. In addition, we found statistically significant effects of the seniors'
technology savviness on the hedonic qualities of the proposed interactive
systems. Seniors with technological experience felt less motivated and judged
the proposed agents less captivating, exciting, and appealing.
