Navigating Trust Online: How Awareness, Platform Features, and User Strategies Shape Generational Differences

This study explores and compares attitudes towards trust online amongst young adults (16–25) and older adults (65+), and examines the impact of trust on their online decisions. We ran nine workshops in the UK with a total of 74 participants (34 younger and 40 older adults) using research scenarios and questionnaires that were co-designed with peers from each age group. Participants believed trust to be important in their judgements and online behaviours, including whether or not to access a website. We identified key factors shared by both age groups that affected their trust online. Differences between the groups were mainly linked to participants’ attitudes, previous experiences and strategies for evaluating the trustworthiness of online services. There is no one-size-fits-all solution regarding issues related to trust online. This study reinforces the need for multi-stakeholder engagement to better identify nuances within different demographics to inform the design and governance of trustworthy online systems.