Older Adults are More Likely to Avoid COVID-19 Information

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Julia Nolte, Cornell UniversityFollow
Corinna Löckenhoff, Cornell UniversityFollow

Description/Abstract

Older adults are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 but less interested in information that might lower the risk of getting or spreading the disease. This brief shows that in the first months of the pandemic, older adults were less likely to consume COVID-19 information or media than younger adults. These behaviors are associated with age differences in emotional experiences and preferences, with older adults feeling calmer and more interested in protecting their feelings than younger adults. To keep older adults informed on COVID-19, government and health officials should directly target communication efforts to older adults.

Document Type

Data Slice

Keywords

COVID-19, Older Adults, Health Communication

Disciplines

Gerontology | Health Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Date

11-16-2021

For More Information

Access all Lerner Center research briefs here.

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Nolte, Julia and Löckenhoff, Corinna, "Older Adults are More Likely to Avoid COVID-19 Information" (2021). Population Health Research Brief Series. 160.
https://surface.syr.edu/lerner/160

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.