The Frequency of Using Websites and Social Media by Various Age Groups to Form Opinions about Scientific Topics: Findings from the European Context

The Frequency of Using Websites and Social Media by Various Age Groups to Form Opinions about Scientific Topics: Findings from the European Context

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This article presents the frequency of using websites and social media by three age groups (18-34, 35-54, 55+) from Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain to form opinions about scientific topics. The findings come from studies performed within a European project entitled CONCISE, which is researching the role of communication in creating EU citizens’ perceptions about science. The results show that young, heavy users take the lead in using all digital sources, except for general websites, where the middle-aged show dominance. Facebook is the most-used social media platform among all age groups. The group of social media non-users among older adults is almost seven times larger than that of the young. The study offers insights for scientists and policymakers on which digital media to target to effectively reach the various age groups with reliable and trustworthy scientific information thus combating misinformation and pseudoscience.

https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-54/dsm/culture/8