Open Collections

Haque, Ishita

University of British Columbia

While users of all ages fall victim to misinformation sharing on social media, there is evidence that older adults are particularly vulnerable. Yet, current misinformation interventions have rarely incorporated their needs. With the growing adoption of social media among older adults, it is essential to understand their perspectives on credibility assessment and its perceived impact on sharing decisions. Leveraging Friends and Family (FnF) to support credibility assessment is a promising approach; however, little is known about how older adults value it relative to assessing credibility individually. To answer this question, we created a prototype that nudges before sharing potential misinformation, and we engaged 12 older adults in think-aloud sessions and semi-structured interviews over selected social media posts. Our thematic analysis reveals that older adults prefer an independent approach while assessing credibility because, among other things, it feels more natural, but involving FnF is often desired for social opportunities for shared decision-making and enhancing interpersonal relationships. Older adults perceive multifaceted risks when sharing across inner (FnF) and outer circles, and they exhibit varying trust in the expertise of individually sourced information and that of FnF. We offer a nuanced understanding of older adults’ perceptions towards credibility and sharing and highlight the design challenges and opportunities for empowering older adults and mitigating social risks when seeking assessment support.

Text

2024-12-19

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89941

Computer Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/