Older people more likely to ‘ overshare’ in chats with others
The risk of “over sharing” in conversation increases with age, a study has shown.
The practice involving giving too much irrelevant detail can also lead to situations where older people reveal sensitive private information about themselves.
Tests carried out by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Northwestern University in Illinois revealed thinking skills influencing how we respond to people’s points of view deteriorate with age.
Linguists used computerised listening and visual tests to assess thinking skills of 100 people aged from 17 to 84.
They tested how participants’ attention skills–the ability to concentrate on one thing and ignore another– influenced their ability to consider a partner’s perspective.
Researchers completed two listening tests to assess two types of attention skills. Firstly, they tracked inhibition – the ability to focus and ignore distracting information.
Then they monitored switchin g–shifting focus between two different sounds and filter relevant information.
The team found an age- related decline in attention switching skills, and that this ability determined how older adults responded to their partner’ s perspective.
Madeleine Long, lead researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s school of philosophy, psychology and language sciences, said that being aware of who we are talking to and their previous knowledge of what is being discussed is crucial to conversation. : “The study identified two attentional functions that influence whether we consider another’s point of view and how that changes as we age.
“This is particularly important for older adults who are more susceptible to revealing private information. We hope these findings can be used to design targeted training that helps older adults improve these skills and avoid embarrassing and potential risky communicative errors.”
An Age Scotland spokeswoman said: “There are certain situations where is it very important older people do not ‘over share ’, including when they are regrettably targeted by scammers.
“We work with Police Scotland and other organisations to ensure older people are aware of the need to keep certain information secure, and any research which helps promote this kind of activity is welcome. However this is only one study and recognise this is area where further research could be beneficial.”