The Age-related Differences in Web Information Search Process

TL;DR

This paper reviews empirical research on how older adults search for health information online, highlighting age-related differences, underlying mechanisms, and implications for designing better search systems to combat misinformation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of age-related differences in online search behaviors and discusses mechanisms and design considerations to improve older adults' search experiences.

Findings

Older adults use different search strategies and query formulations.

Cognitive changes and goal shifts influence search behavior.

Design factors can mitigate misinformation susceptibility.

Abstract

Older adults' need for quality health information has never been more critical as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, they are susceptible to the wide-spread misinformation disseminated through search engines and social media. To build a search-related behavioral profile of older adults, this article surveys the empirical research on age-related differences in query formulation, search strategies, information evaluation, and susceptibility to misinformation effects. It also decomposes the mechanisms (i.e., cognitive changes, development goal shift) and moderators (i.e., search task and interface design) of such differences. To inform the design of information systems to improve older adults' information search experience, we discuss opportunities for future research.