Online safety supports in Ireland are largely designed with young people in mind. Existing organisations, such as the Irish Safer Internet Centre, do excellent work to provide children and parents with online safety information, yet there is a significant resource gap for adults over 65 (Bermingham, 2023). Adult digital learners, as well as staff who support them within community centers, libraries, FETs, and ETBs, are rarely centred in the design of cyber safety education, leaving educators struggling to find best practice advice tailored to the needs of their students.

This research first began by asking older adults across Ireland what they wanted to learn about staying safe online. Their responses shaped the following work, funded by Research Ireland as part of the “Our Tech” challenge. Rather than designing a solution and rolling it out to communities, participatory methods were chosen as a relational commitment to include individuals often excluded from conversations surrounding the development of educational technologies. In Phase One of this research, 58 adults aged 65+ participated in a Dot Voting activity to rank their learning priorities: password management, privacy, and avoiding scams (Sheil, 2024). In Phase Two, focus groups with 31 older adult participants from rural and urban communities across Ireland followed, where tailored guidance presentations and leaflets sparked discussion. Participants were seen to be highly aware of cyber threats, while also feeling anxious and sometimes overly cautious. We found this cohort did not want tools imposed on them, but rather support that restored their agency and control.

We began by designing an e-learning course to expand on the chosen topics, but received feedback from older adult participants who largely did not wish to engage in a self-directed e-learning course, preferring information to be relayed by someone they trusted. Interviewing 35 older adult educators showed a need for personalised, accessible guidance for delivering digital skills education (Gruben, 2025). We therefore pivoted to provide a resource for librarians, adult educators, and FET and ETB practitioners, already embedded in positions of trust within communities. A co-informed e-learning course for older adult educators was then developed using diary study feedback from 11 staff, refined, and finally launched free of charge at an online event attended by librarians across Ireland. The course has reached 195 students across Ireland so far.

Robust, inclusive cyber safety education for all members of society is a moving target as the online threat horizon changes, particularly with the advancement of generative artificial intelligence (Jabir et al., 2025). Empowering both individuals and educators to embrace digital citizenship, manage online risks, and build confidence are crucial for a holistic digital strategy, and investing in training is vital for effective digital integration (OECD, 2025). Building on this, we are now co-designing a course specifically for 12–18 year olds, motivated by a post-course survey that revealed that a high number of students (n=72, 36%) enrolled in the course, to learn cybersecurity advice for themselves, and also family and community members they help with day-to-day queries. Focus groups with young people (n=18), supported by information provided by a 5th year youth consultant, are currently shaping content, tone, and format, including gamification of content, personalised learning options, and the option of digital badges and in-person recognition of achievements, aiming for young people to be co-designers and deliverers of cybersafety information. This research offers a lens into what happens when cybersafety research starts not with technology, but with a question about who is missing. Through participatory methods including dot voting, focus group, and diary studies, a relational, community-grounded ripple effect has begun, moving from older adults, to adult educators, to youth.