Media Behaviors Considered by Older Adults During Health Emergencies: A Cross-National Study

PurposeTo identify the predictors of the technology-assisted behaviors older adults would consider implementing once encountered with a health concern and seeking help. To understand this phenomenon, the study tapped into the technology familiarity approach and the media richness theory.MethodsData were obtained from the 2020 wave of the Ageing, Communication, Technologies (ACT) survey and analyzed using logistic regression models. The sample included 3,926 internet users 63-97 years old from Austria, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain.Main findingsCurrent uses of certain technological outlets were positively associated with the consideration of their use in the studied context, albeit to different extents. Cross-country differences were also notable, being pronounced in consideration of particular behaviors more than the others.ConclusionsThe results suggest that technology familiarity, media richness, and communication culture that encourages/hinders media richness contribute to understanding of the considered emergency-related media behavior in later life.