Older people appear to be more susceptible to scams and hoaxes online compared to real life. This seems to indicate that digital illiteracy plays an important role in why older adults share more misinformation online.

Pepperdine University

Older adults tend to be less familiar with online spaces which may make them more susceptible to clickbait and internet hoaxes and make it more difficult for them to recognize manipulated images or sponsored content.

Digital Illiteracy Theory for Increased Engagement with Fake News Later in Life

Brashier, N. M., & Schacter, D. L. (2020). Aging in an Era of Fake News. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(3), 316–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420915872

Aging in an Era of Fake News

There is evidence that people of all ages struggle to differentiate fake news sites from mainstream news sites and this difficulty has not been shown to increase with age.

Age and Ability to Differentiate Fake News Sites from Mainstream News Sites

Older adults have been found to have greater difficulty differentiating sponsored news stories and advertisements  from unsponsored editorial content.

Age and Ability to Recognize Sponsored Content

The ability to spot changes made to images and differentiate real from fake images has been found to decrease with age.

Age and Ability to Recognize Manipulated Images

Older adults report less willingness to share fake news than younger people. 

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