The Illusion of Choice in Discussing Cybersecurity Safeguards Between Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Their Caregivers

Although continual online interaction is beneficial for an older adult with mild cognitive impairment, cybersecurity risks can become more pronounced. Prior work has touted the benefit of shared decision-making between care recipients and caregivers who may want to instill cybersecurity safeguards, particularly in the area of online safety and security. In this study we investigated the current online safety and security decision-making practices of care recipients with mild cognitive impairment and their spousal caregivers. We identified a gap between optative and actual decision-making: whereas couples expressed their desire to engage in shared decision-making, the actuality was most caregivers were compelled to take sole action. We further determined that shared-decision making was not feasible as there was a lack of suitable safeguarding options along a spectrum of care for the couple to choose from. We relate these findings to prior work that highlights similar challenges and discuss how there needs to be more offered than simply an illusion of choice.