Do older adults feel watched, followed, or monitored when they use digital devices and apps? If they feel a certain form of surveillance, who do they think is watching them? Does this perceived surveillance cause stress or other negative effects? These are some of the main questions the Aging in Data cross-national study aims to answer. Through an online survey focusing on individual experiences, the study investigates older adults’ perception of surveillance when they use the internet. To provide precise answers to these questions, agents of surveillance are divided in different groups such as corporations, employers, or family members. The respondents are asked whether or not they feel watched by each of these groups and whether this surveillance produces positive or negative effects.
The research will further evaluate how older individuals react to the feeling of being watched on the internet. The survey includes questions on affective reactions and behavioural changes caused by surveillance. Does the feeling of being watched on the internet cause technostress, or stress produced by the use of information and communication technologies? And then, do older individuals change their behaviour as a reaction to this affective response? Do they take specific actions to protect their privacy online?
Based in six countries – Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, and Romania – the project will produce a unique comparative analysis. This major research project is one of the first quantitative studies to focus on older adults’ perception of surveillance in a cross-national context.
Data was collected in the fall of 2023, and a descriptive report was published in January 2024.
