[kevinguh]

Something I'm left wondering about is whether there is a difference in proficiency between laptop/desktop-based apps and mobile apps. This study seems to define a computer as a laptop or desktop machine which may've made sense given the study started in 2011 when mobile computing was still relatively nascent, but the time span of the study from 2011-2015 encompasses a period of pretty expansive mobile adoption (IIRC I didn't even get my first smartphone until 2012). Moreover, my impression is mobile penetration outstrips that of sit-down machines (someone please correct me if I'm mistaken) so for some demographics their primary understanding of a "computer" could be from the perspective of a mobile device. If that is the case then perhaps that introduces a caveat to the scoring -- mobile and desktop experiences are quite different and someone coming to a desktop-based interface from a mobile-first background might score more poorly on the test than their actual level of technical proficiency would suggest.

Additionally, it seems to me that a lot of more recent interface designs seem to converge in the overall UX. Perhaps it's a result of standards like Material Design/Apple Guidelines and frameworks like Bootstrap and Semantic UI being published, but whatever the reason I think it has the benefit of reducing the learning curve for new products and making them easier to navigate. Even though this study concluded only 4 years ago in 2015, tech trends move fast and I personally think its measure of users' computer skills may be a bit dated in the context of today's tech landscape. This could just as well be my perspective from inside the bubble though, so here's your grain of salt with all of the above