IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/tbitxx/v45y2026i7p1407-1430.html

Age differences in smartphone menu item selection: the effects of menu patterns, icon background colours, and icon symbols

Author

Listed:
  • Lumpapun Punchoojit
  • Nuttanont Hongwarittorrn

Abstract

Menu design includes elements such as patterns, depth and breadth, labelling, and structure, all impacting usability. With the rise of smartphones, many menu patterns have emerged, but icons now play a critical role, indicating that patterns alone don't determine usability. Previous research shows that icon designs, including background colours and symbols, affect menu efficiency and this impact varies across age groups. This study aimed to understand the factors influencing menu selection time, selection errors, and user satisfaction by evaluating menu patterns as another independent variable. We investigated the effects of age groups, menu patterns, icon background colours, and icon symbols on these metrics. A total of 240 participants, divided into children, adults, and older adults (80 per group), took part in the experiment. Results showed that grid menus, multicolour backgrounds, and pictorial symbols significantly improved selection time. Age also significantly affected selection time, with adults being the fastest, followed by children, and then older adults. Based on these findings, we offer design recommendations for smartphone menus and icon designs.

Suggested Citation

  • Lumpapun Punchoojit & Nuttanont Hongwarittorrn, 2026. "Age differences in smartphone menu item selection: the effects of menu patterns, icon background colours, and icon symbols," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(7), pages 1407-1430, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:tbitxx:v:45:y:2026:i:7:p:1407-1430
    DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2025.2551571
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2551571
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2551571?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:tbitxx:v:45:y:2026:i:7:p:1407-1430. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/tbit .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.