Silver Surfers Search for Gold: a Study Into the Online Information-Seeking Skills of Those Over Fifty

Abstract

Older adults are now the fastest growing population of online users the world over (Olson et al. Ageing International, 36(1), 123-145, 2011). Encouraging data continues to emerge regarding the rate of Internet adoption among those over fifty in particular (Hernandez-Encuentra et al. Educational Gerontology, 35 (3), [226][227][228][229][230][231][232][233][234][235][236][237][238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245] 2009). Yet questions as to the effectiveness of such use and of training designed to advance the skills of our senior surfers continue to go unanswered. While a great deal has been written on seniors and technology in general, very few studies Bregarding age and its influence on search behaviour^can be found (Singer et al. 2012). This paper uses Literature Review as a method to scope and define this gap. The need for future research that specifically addresses online searching behaviours and effective training in this area for those over fifty is discussed.

Searching for Health: Doctor Google and the Shifting Dynamics of the Middle-Aged and Older Adult Patient–Physician Relationship and Interaction

“…OHI can be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, and even plain wrong and misleading (Haluza et al, 2017). Furthermore, Internet users are largely left to themselves to interpret OHI and determine its reliability and relevance (Morrison, 2015). People who lack the necessary skills and media, Internet, and (e-)health literacy to access, understand, and appraise OHI might misinterpret or misuse it (Chung, 2013;Gualtieri, 2009;Iverson et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2014;Silver, 2015).…”

“…Concurrently, using the Internet for health (information) purposes has been negatively associated with older age (Galarce et al, 2011;Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2018;Miller & Bell, 2012;Thompson et al, 2004;Xie, 2009). Individual age-related factors such as impaired vision and declining cognitive abilities (Czaja et al, 2010;Morrison, 2015;Xie, 2009) as well as functional literacy decline have been linked to difficulties using the Internet and finding and understanding OHI (Friemel, 2016;Huang et al, 2012;Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2018;Lee, Hoti, Hughes, & Emmerton, 2015;Scott et al, 2017). Importantly, Silver (2015) found that adults over 50 years of age have various concerns with using the Internet in relation to health issues.…”

“…While physicians were once the sole source of health information for patients (Ong, De Haes, Hoos, & Lammes, 1995;Vanderminden & Potter, 2010), the Internet and online health information (OHI) have influenced the relationship and communication between patients and physicians within the clinical encounter (Broom, 2005;Chiu, 2011;Chung, 2013;Gualtieri, 2009;Iverson, Howard, & Penney, 2007;Kivits, 2006;Tan & Goonawardene, 2017;Van Riel, Auwerx, Debbaut, Van Hees, & Schoenmakers, 2017;Wald, Dube, & Anthony, 2007). Previous work has explored middle-aged and older adults' health information-seeking behaviors (Czaja, Sharit, Hernandez, Nair, & Loewenstein, 2010;Huang, Hansen, & Xie, 2012;Medlock et al, 2015;Morrison, 2015;Sanders, Sánchez Valle, Vinaras, & Llorente, 2015) and interactions with doctors (Eliassen, 2016;Thompson, Robinson, & Beisecker, 2004), but few studies have examined the use of OHI, specifically its influence and impact on the clinical encounter and the relationship with the physician (see Haluza, Naszay, Stockinger, & Jungwirth, 2017;Scott et al, 2017;Silver, 2015;Xie, 2009). This relatively small number of studies is rather surprising as the chances of chronic health issues increase around the age of 50 years (Silver, 2015;Xie, 2009), suggesting that middle-aged and older adults stand to benefit from obtaining OHI.…”

The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal: Usability Evaluation of a Unique Evidence-Based Health Information Website

“…Medical advice offered by for-profit companies and celebrities may not be scientifically sound and could be harmful [ 16 - 19 ]. Also, health information websites may not be senior friendly [ 20 , 21 ]. Lastly, most health websites focus on specific diseases or health conditions without providing a broader view of aging by including content on disease prevention or health promotion.…”

A pre-post study to assess the impact of an information-problem solving intervention on university students’ perceptions and self-efficacy towards search engines

“…Studies on the use of various search engines reveal that people of all ages have difficulties using them. For example, seniors seem to have difficulty in finding the information they want about search engines (Morrison, 2015). Aula, Khan, and Guan (2010) found that as task difficulty increases, users issue more queries and are more likely to visit more Web pages and spend more time on search engine result pages.…”