Cybersafety Card Game: Empowering Digital Educators to Teach Cybersafety to Older Adults
Jacob Camilleri, Ashley Sheil, Michelle O'Keeffe, Moya Cronin, Melanie Gruben, Hazel Murray
TL;DR
The paper tackles gaps in cybersafety education for older adults amid digital inequality, proposing a tactile, non-digital card-game approach tailored to the Irish context. It introduces a shedding-type card game with four advice domains (scams, passwords, cyber attacks, privacy) and integrates digital educators as active players to facilitate learning. Using a mixed-method evaluation (think-aloud, interviews, surveys) with 16 participants, the study finds high engagement and perceived usefulness of the advice, with initial learning curves that ameliorate over time. The work contributes a practical, scalable tool for informal digital education and outlines concrete design refinements for broader deployment.
Abstract
Digital inequality remains a significant barrier for many older adults, limiting their ability to navigate online spaces securely and confidently while increasing their susceptibility to cyber threats. In response, we propose a novel shedding-type card game for older adults to conceptually learn and reinforce cyber hygiene practices in educational settings. We asked digital educators to participate as players alongside older adults (n = 16), departing from their usual role as teachers, they collaborated and shared a unique learning experience. The cybersafety game addresses 4 key topics: handling scams, password management, responding to cyber attacks, and staying private. We adopted a mixed-method approach of think-aloud playtesting, semi-structured interviews, and surveys to evaluate the game's reception and impact. Participants reported highly favorable gameplay experiences and found the cybersafety advice useful. Player feedback informed game modifications, detailed in this paper, to further enhance the game's usability and educational value.