Help Us Enhance Cyber Safety: A Study for 65+ Adults

MTU (Munster Technological University) is undertaking a research study on Cyber Safety. 
The goal is to understand how particular cyber safety resources tailored for the older adult can assist older adults in navigating the online world safely and confidently. Anyone interested in participating can sign up or get further details by contacting cyber-safety@cyberskills.ie


The CyberSafety Project Team are conducting a diary study to evaluate the effectiveness of our cyber-safety resources tailored for older adults aged 65 and older.


Our goal is to understand how these cyber-safety materials can assist older adults in navigating the online world safely and confidently. If we can enhance their online safety with these materials, managing the risks associated with cyber threats will be much easier and could potentially reduce the likelihood of online fraud and exploitation for older adults across Ireland.


Participants will engage with the cyber safety resources over a period of 2 weeks. We are asking them to complete a short diary entry each time they use the resource (e.g., information booklet or card game). Each diary entry will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. After the diary study, we may invite some participants to partake in a short interview, either in person or online, to discuss their experiences in more detail.


Older adults’ participation in this study will be highly beneficial as they will play a key role in improving cyber-safety resources and gain valuable insights into online safety practices. As a token of our appreciation, interested participants will receive a €40 One4all shopping voucher. Please note that participants can withdraw at any point during the study and will still receive the voucher.


Kindly spread the word with any older adults in your network, such as family members, friends, or community members, who might be interested in contributing to this important study. Interested individuals can sign up by replying to this email or contacting cyber-safety@cyberskills.ie. We will provide more details and guide them through the next steps.


Please let us know if you have any questions we can answer. Thank you for helping us improve digital experiences for older adults.