Older adults' vulnerability to fake news, image manipulation and online deception: causes and interventions

Older adults (60+ years) often take up new technologies at a slower rate than younger adults (Sourbati, 2009) and have lower digital skills when they do (Bhattacharjee et al., 2020). This reduced digital literacy means that older adults are less good at discriminating manipulated images from real ones (Nightingale et al., 2022) and they are more vulnerable to fake news (Moore & Hancock, 2022) and online scams (Fraud on the Elderly, 2013). Other social and cognitive factors also affect older adults' vulnerability, including (I) being too trusting, (II) social isolation, (III) psychological vulnerability and (IV) risk taking (Shao et al., 2019). Interventions have been developed to help older adults detect fake news and manipulated images (Moore & Hancock, 2022; Nightingale et al., 2022). However, the rise of new technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, may put older adults at greater risk.
The aim of this PhD student proposal is to (a) study how modality and technology influence older adults' vulnerability to deception (online text vs. online images/video vs. virtual reality environments), (b) study the social and cognitive factors that contribute to older adults' vulnerability (trust; social isolation; cognitive function) and (c) study the efficacy of interventions aimed at helping older adults reduce their vulnerability.
The PhD will consist of multiple studies, each looking at a specific technological context and/or intervention. Each study will recruit older adults (via the C4AR panel) and younger adults (via SONA) and measure the social and cognitive factors of interest.