Old age is also a time for change: trends in news intermediary preferences among internet users in Canada and Spain

The study investigates how older internet users (aged 60+) in Canada and Spain keep up with breaking news, focusing on their preferred intermediaries and changes over time, especially around the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors situate the work within ongoing digitalisation, noting concerns about social media’s role in disinformation and echo chambers, and ageist assumptions that older adults lack digital skills. They adopt a communication ecology perspective that considers combinations of mass media (MM), social media (MSCM), and one-to-one communication (121C) tools. The research questions are: RQ1: What are the preferred news intermediaries used by online older adults? RQ2: How did these preferences change with the Covid-19 pandemic? RQ3: What similarities or differences can be observed between Canada and Spain? The sample comprises 1450 panelists who responded in both waves (2016/17 and Nov 2020), representing older internet users (mean age ~70.5 in 2020; 56% male). The countries offer contrasting digital contexts (internet use rates and price structures), enabling comparison of media prioritization when seeking timely news.

The theoretical framework traces the evolution from analogue media (print, radio, TV; letters, landlines) to internet-based services (websites, email) and newer platforms (mobile messaging and social network sites, SNS). The internet transformed affordances across media (e.g., migration from print/TV/radio to apps; multimodal messaging). Social media (mass self-communication) enable horizontal, participatory communication and prosumption, shifting emphasis from distribution to circulation. Concerns about filter bubbles and echo chambers suggest users may receive ideologically confirming information, amplified by algorithms, opinion leaders, and potential fake news. The paper conceptualizes media as intermediaries (mass, social, personal/121C) that select and transform information. It highlights mixed evidence on echo chambers—tracked social data often suggest them, while self-reported broader media use suggests cross-media exposure. The authors note claims that older adults contribute to disinformation, but these are context-limited and may reflect confirmation bias, political ideology, or uneven digital skills. A communication ecology approach emphasizes individuals’ combinations of intermediaries and the dynamics of media competition, coexistence, and displacement, particularly salient for older adults navigating changing media repertoires.

Design and data: Two-wave online longitudinal panel from the Ageing Communication and Technologies (ACT) project in Canada and Spain. Wave 1 (W1): 2016–2017; Wave 2 (W2): November 2020 (post-lockdown, with ongoing distancing). Baseline W1 valid responses: 5948 (response ratio 45.7%). Retention to W2: 24.4% (N=1450), all aged 60+ and internet users. Analyses focus on the 1450 individuals who participated in both waves. Sample characteristics at W2: mean age 70.5 (SD 5.6); 55.9% male; 43.5% tertiary education; Spain 64.5% and Canada 35.5% of the sample. Measure of preferred news intermediaries: Respondents selected up to three sources they would use to get timely information (e.g., election results): Call; Mobile messaging (text/voice/video via phone); Email; Social network sites (SNS); TV/radio (TV/R); Websites; Computer-based chat (e.g., Skype); Other; Don’t know. “Other” was recoded when possible; “Don’t know” was exclusive. Analytic strategy: (1) Descriptive comparisons of media selection between W1 and W2 (overall and by country), testing statistical differences. (2) Latent class analysis (LCA) to identify unobserved groups based on preferred media. For LCA, only media with ≥5% frequency in both waves were included: TV/R, mobile messaging, Email, SNS, Call, Web. The model was estimated using R’s poLCA package. Model selection employed AIC and adjusted BIC; the optimal solution had four classes. The LCA was fit on W2 to represent underlying characteristics; posterior probabilities were then used to assign W1 class membership (back-casting) to examine transitions over time. (3) Sankey diagrams visualized individual transitions between classes (W1→W2). Socio-demographic profiles by class and wave were compared (age, gender, education, country).

- Aggregated media preferences: Websites, TV/radio, and calls were the most commonly selected intermediaries for breaking news. Over time, there was a decline in preference for TV/radio and websites overall; this decline was statistically significant primarily in Spain. Voice calls and mobile messaging showed no significant overall change, but declined in Canada and increased in Spain. - Latent classes of preferred intermediaries in W2 and stability: - Class 1 (10%): Mass and personal intermediaries (TV/R, websites, calls). Smallest and most unstable class; only 15% remained from W1 to W2; shifted to Spain-only composition in W2; more with primary/lower education. Average number of media selected remained constant (3 in both waves). - Class 2 (30%): Mass intermediaries (TV/R and websites; email more salient in W1). Grew from 25% (W1) to 30% (W2). Most stable class: 46% remained. In W2, only Spanish respondents; more with secondary education; average media count rose from 1.77 to 2.1. - Class 3 (32%): Mass and social intermediaries (TV/R, websites with SNS or mobile messaging). Slight decline from 33% (W1) to 32% (W2). Second most stable: 45% remained. Average media count decreased from 2.96 to 2.62. W2 comprised only Spanish respondents; more with primary and tertiary, fewer with secondary education. - Class 4 (28%): Personal and social intermediaries (calls, email, mobile messaging). Grew from 25% (W1) to 28% (W2). Stability: 41% remained. W2 had more respondents from Spain; gender flipped from more women (W1) to more men (W2). Average media count 2.7 in both waves. - Overall transitions: 60.5% of respondents changed class between waves, with shifts both toward more digital (MSCM-heavy) and more conventional (MM-heavy) combinations, indicating diverse trajectories rather than uniform migration to newer media. - Echo chambers and diversity of sources: Only 28% of the sample (Class 4 in W2) relied exclusively on social and personal intermediaries, potentially reinforcing echo chambers. The majority combined mass with social/personal intermediaries, suggesting cross-source exposure that may mitigate echo-chamber effects. - Country differences: Declines in TV/radio and website use were driven by Spain; calls and mobile messaging declined in Canada but increased in Spain, potentially linked to price differences in mobile internet. Class compositions by country often shifted to Spain-only in W2; differences align with educational distributions and the age-based digital divide patterns.

Findings indicate older internet users are not uniformly dependent on social media for news; rather, they rely on varied communication ecologies, combining mass, social, and personal intermediaries. This multimodal consumption challenges ageist narratives that older adults disproportionately fuel disinformation via social media. The modest share (28%) informing themselves exclusively through social/personal channels suggests that echo-chamber risks, while present, do not characterize the majority. Changes between 2016/17 and late 2020 were heterogeneous: while some moved toward more digital mixtures, others reverted from social to traditional mass intermediaries, reflecting informed choices and media ideologies rather than simple deficits in digital skills. Cross-country differences (e.g., Spain showing stronger declines in TV/web; divergent trends in calls and mobile messaging) likely relate to structural contexts (pricing) and demographic composition (education) that shape digital appropriation in later life. These dynamics underscore the importance of considering media repertoires holistically when assessing exposure diversity, polarization risks, and the role of older adults in the news ecosystem.

The study shows that older online adults in Canada and Spain use diverse combinations of mass, social, and personal intermediaries to follow breaking news. Only a minority (28%) rely solely on social/personal intermediaries that could reinforce echo chambers; most combine sources, potentially counterbalancing disinformation. Preferences are fluid: despite pandemic-driven digitalization, shifts were not uniformly toward newer media, with many moving in different directions based on needs and media ideologies. Cross-country differences appear intertwined with demographic factors, particularly education, reflecting digital divide patterns. Future research should extend the observation period to track aging-related trajectories, assess persistence of pandemic-influenced habits, and further analyze how evolving communication ecologies relate to digital inequalities and the broader digitalization of services.

- The sample represents older adults who are internet users; there is no comparison with younger adults or non-users, limiting generalizability beyond older online populations. - Panel attrition reduced the sample from W1 to W2 (retention 24.4%), potentially biasing results; the study is not statistically representative of the broader population. - The four-year gap between waves spans the Covid-19 outbreak; changes may reflect pandemic-specific conditions rather than typical longitudinal evolution. - W2 was collected after strict lockdowns ended; timing may shape reported habits. The study did not aim to isolate pandemic effects, so persistence of observed changes requires further investigation.