Information and news use by older people in social media and messenger apps: Perceptions, practices, and content

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anna Sophie Kümpel
• Subject Area: Communication Sciences
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 515673040

For the majority of older people, "being online" has become a central part of everyday life: Among 60- to 69-year-old Germans, 93% use the Internet at least rarely, and even among people older than 70 the proportion accounted for 77% in 2021. Not least because of the Corona pandemic, there has been a further surge in digitization among older users in particular, which has also been accompanied by a rise in the importance of social media platforms such as Facebook and messenger apps such as WhatsApp. Similar to younger users, the 60+ generation is increasingly using these applications not only for social exchange but also for current information and news. These developments, however, are accompanied by fears of dysfunctional usage behavior: First studies suggest that older users have less digital news competence, less knowledge about algorithmic curation, and are more susceptible to misinformation. However, in order to adequately address the causes of these tendencies, it is first necessary to better understand older people’s general information and news usage behavior. Indeed, a systematic literature review shows that we currently know little about (1) how older users perceive social media platforms and messenger apps as information and news channels, (2) what information and news use practices they exhibit, and (3) what content they are exposed to. Given the overarching characteristics of the applications—such as the (algorithmic) personalization and the strong dependence on social influences—this is not only scientifically relevant but also has consequences for the democratic system, which relies on an informed citizenry. The project addresses the three areas mentioned above, building on an innovative multi-method design for the empirical investigation. First, a qualitative study—combining direct observations and self-confrontation interviews with walkthrough elements—will be used to gain basic insights into the perception of social media platforms and messenger apps as information channels as well as into overarching information use practices of older people. Based on this, a standardized survey on information use practices of online users (60+) will be conducted, followed by a data donation study for which participants will be asked to provide usage data obtained via data download packages of social media platforms as well as WhatsApp chat logs. Finally, the resulting data on information and news content participants have viewed or interacted with will be subjected to automated and manual content analyses to generate insights on common sources, formats, and topics.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants