Digital Literacy and Information Disorder: Understanding Older Adults' Interaction With False Information on Social Media
Abstract
This paper investigates how older adults engage with social media and how they deal with misinformation and disinformation. Many older adults today rely on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to stay informed, but often struggle to distinguish the truth from false information online. This research, therefore, focuses on why older users struggle to identify false information online. It also examines how digital literacy, trust in information sources, and emotional responses factor into their decisions. A mixed-method was employed. Researchers distributed a questionnaire to 20 elderly users aged 60 years and older and conducted interviews with the same participants to add more depth. They analysed the data using simple statistics and thematic analysis. The results indicate that many elderly users struggle with fact-checking and sometimes believe messages passed along by friends or family. But the more digital skills people had, the more cautious they were about sharing and the more questions they asked. This study suggests the need for basic, applicable media literacy education even for older adults. Helping them fact-check being misled.
The following research questions guide this study: 1) How do older adults respond to misinformation and disinformation on social media? 2) What factors influence their trust in the content they receive and share on social media? 3) In what ways does digital literacy affect their ability to deal with false or misleading information?
By addressing these questions, the study aims to shed light on how older adults interact with social media amid widespread misinformation and disinformation. It also hopes to suggest practical ways to help improve digital literacy and critical thinking skills among this age group.
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