Status of Senior Media Literacy in the Slovak Republic

According to the last population census in Slovakia (in 2021), senior citizens, or people over 65 years of age make up 17% of the total population of Slovakia. Despite this, we cannot consider seniors, or those of the age of 65 and older inactive or completely unproductive, considering that this is not only a consequence of the aging of the population, but to a large extent the growth of the average life expectancy of people in our society. Many seniors, or people in the post-productive age in this period of life still or occasionally work, maintain contact with family and acquaintances or even actively participate in civic life. In this regard, we therefore consider it important to pay attention to the level of media literacy of seniors who, more or less, use media and digital technologies in their lives and are thus exposed to their positive and negative effects. Although education in the field of media education mainly focuses on children and youth, it is necessary to realise that our society is created, shaped and decided by adults of productive and post-productive age. The goal of our study is therefore to map the current state of media literacy of Slovak seniors in the area of their user skills and communication skills related to the use of media and digital technologies, and their ability to critically understand. We therefore monitor the state of knowledge about the media and a critical view of them, the ability to critically analyse media content and the practical skills of seniors in relation to the media. The presented study reflects the results of quantitative research carried out on a representative sample of Slovak seniors using the questionnaire method. The result of the study is the relevant conclusions resulting from the empirical investigation and a summary of proposed recommendations for improving the current situation.