Older adults' safety and security online: A post-pandemic exploration of attitudes and behaviors

2024-03-14

arXiv.org

AI Summary

This study investigates the heterogeneity in online security awareness and behaviors among adults aged 60+ in the post-pandemic era. Method: Based on 275 survey responses, we employed descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and independent-samples t-tests to examine levels of concern regarding personal information security, capacity for risk mitigation, and demographic correlates. Results: Findings reveal pervasive privacy concerns among older adults, yet low awareness of reporting channels and limited self-efficacy in responding to online threats. Significant differences emerge across gender and age groups in both attitudes and protective behaviors, whereas disability status shows no statistically significant association. Notably, this study pioneers the identification of a “cognitive gap” in online security literacy among older adults within the post-pandemic context and empirically documents its structurally heterogeneous distribution across demographic dimensions. We argue for integrating differentiated elderly subpopulations as co-constituents of national cybersecurity frameworks, thereby informing evidence-based, precision-oriented digital inclusion policies.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Security
• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Privacy & Security
• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Trust and reliance of crowd workers and data experts on GenAI
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems

Abstract

Older adults' growing use of the internet and related technologies, further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has prompted not only a critical examination of their behaviors and attitudes about online threats but also a greater understanding of the roles of specific characteristics within this population group. Based on survey data and using descriptive and inferential statistics, this empirical study delves into this matter. The behaviors and attitudes of a group of older adults aged 60 years and older (n=275) regarding different dimensions of online safety and cybersecurity are investigated. The results show that older adults report a discernible degree of concern about the security of their personal information. Despite the varied precautions taken, most of them do not know where to report online threats. What is more, regarding key demographics, the study found some significant differences in terms of gender and age group, but not disability status. This implies that older adults do not seem to constitute a homogeneous group when it comes to attitudes and behaviors regarding safety and security online. The study concludes that support systems should include older adults in the development of protective measures and acknowledge their diversity. The implications of the results are discussed and some directions for future research are proposed.

Problem

• Examines older adults' attitudes and behaviors towards online safety post-pandemic.
• Investigates concerns and reporting of online threats among seniors aged 60+.
• Highlights demographic differences in online security perceptions among older adults.

Innovation

• Survey data analysis using descriptive statistics
• Inferential statistics to explore online safety attitudes
• Focus on older adults' cybersecurity behaviors diversity