JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Older adults, a population particularly susceptible to misinformation, may be victims of attempts of health-related scams or defrauding, and they may unknowingly spread misinformation. Prior research has investigated managing misinformation by media literacy education or supporting users with fact-checking information and cautioning for potential misinformation content, yet studies focusing on older adults are limited. Chatbots have the potential to educate and support older adults in misinformation management, but only limited research is available in this domain.

Objective:

This current study offers a perspective on how older adults may utilize chatbot’s capabilities for misinformation management.

Methods:

We conducted five participatory design workshops with a total of 17 older adult participants, to ideate ways that chatbots can help them manage misinformation.

Results:

The results reveal the social roles that older adults expect chatbots to play as well as their concerns about using chatbots for misinformation management. This paper’s findings also demonstrate that issues from misinformation are interrelated with interpersonal relationships and power issues found within society at large, reaching beyond fact-checking.

Conclusions:

This paper discusses and proposes how chatbots can be designed as part of technological systems for educating older adults.