OLDER ADULTS’ RESPONSES TO MISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

Social media offer the opportunity for much public discourse, which also has the potential to spread misinformation far and wide. This study investigates how older adults respond to misinformation on social media and how older adults’ responses to encountering false information on social media vary by sociodemographic factors and digital skills. Based on survey data collected in 2023 from 2,000 adults ages 60+, we find that many users take a multifaceted approach to assessing false or misleading information on social media. Their most common strategies are checking the source and reading the comments for validation. These responses to misinformation highlight older adults’ active participation in information verification on social media.