Would You Preserve Your Privacy or Enhance it? How to Best Frame Privacy Interventions for Older and Younger Users

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the role of personalized communication in promoting the effective use of privacy measures for different age groups. Research has shown that due to differences in cognitive processing, older and younger adults respond differently to rationally identical presentations of the same message (i.e., the framing effect). Therefore, messages that are designed to nudge users towards more privacy protective behaviors should be tailored according to the age of the user groups. We conducted a controlled experiment where we presented a privacy and security technology with a gain framing of “Privacy Enhancing Technology” vs. a loss framing of “Privacy Preserving Technology.” Our results show that older adults are more motivated to protect themselves by a loss-framed message than a gain-framed message, while younger adults’ responsiveness to either a gain- or loss-framed message depends on their level of privacy concern. The findings highlight the importance of personalized communication in promoting privacy and security measures among different age groups.