Digital divide in information verification among young seniors: An analysis of literacies and sociodemographic factors
- 1Department of Language Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Abstract
In the post-truth era, characterized by rampant misinformation, seniors are particularly susceptible to its ramifications. This study endeavored to identify how sociodemographic factors and five literacy dimensions were associated with intentional information verification among young seniors and bridge the digital divide in verification. Based on the empirical data collected from 405 young seniors aged 55–74 in Hong Kong, the findings indicated that education was associated with both literacy levels and verification behaviors. Different literacy dimensions showed distinct associations with information verification: media literacy and digital literacy emerged as core correlates of both interpersonal and institutional verification, while information literacy showed an additional association with institutional verification. This research enriches the conceptual comprehension of the connection between literacy and information verification and provides feasible insights for developing targeted interventions to narrow the digital divide in seniors’ verification engagement and mitigate the effects of misinformation.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026digital,
title = {{Digital divide in information verification among young seniors: An analysis of literacies and sociodemographic factors}},
author = {Wenting Yu and Yanxinyue Liu and Cindy Sing Bik Ngai and Jihye Park},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359202},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359202},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Digital divide in information verification among young seniors: An analysis of literacies and sociodemographic factors
AU - Wenting Yu
AU - Yanxinyue Liu
AU - Cindy Sing Bik Ngai
AU - Jihye Park
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359202
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359202
AB - In the post-truth era, characterized by rampant misinformation, seniors are particularly susceptible to its ramifications. This study endeavored to identify how sociodemographic factors and five literacy dimensions were associated with intentional information verification among young seniors and bridge the digital divide in verification. Based on the empirical data collected from 405 young seniors aged 55–74 in Hong Kong, the findings indicated that education was associated with both literacy levels and verification behaviors. Different literacy dimensions showed distinct associations with information verification: media literacy and digital literacy emerged as core correlates of both interpersonal and institutional verification, while information literacy showed an additional association with institutional verification. This research enriches the conceptual comprehension of the connection between literacy and information verification and provides feasible insights for developing targeted interventions to narrow the digital divide in seniors’ verification engagement and mitigate the effects of misinformation.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -