Abstract

This article examines age-related differences in women’s digital self-protection using survey data from 246 adult women in Hanoi. The analysis focuses on self-protection capacity, perceived digital safety, and practices for protecting privacy and personal data, with age examined continuously and across four groups. No statistically significant age differences are found in self-protection capacity or perceived digital safety, whereas privacy and personal data protection practices vary more clearly. All five practices are negatively correlated with age, although the associations are small; checking or adjusting privacy settings shows the strongest relationship. Post-hoc comparisons indicate that differences are concentrated primarily between women aged 60 and above and those below 50, without a consistently declining pattern across age groups. The findings suggest that age gaps in digital self-protection should be assessed through specific behaviors rather than interpreted as a uniform disadvantage in individual capability.

Keywords: Age, digital self-protection, personal data, privacy, women.