We see media as an important tool to educate various target groups with regard to importance of silver economy; seniors as an integral part of the open innovation eco system. Rising awareness, along with proper allocation of necessary resources, in turn, could also increase the level of involvement of academia in such activities. In this context we understand media in rather wide context, starting from mass media and social media, ending with various channels (e.g. gorilla marketing activities, posters, etc.) to spread the message. Academia is itself one of such communication channels.
Given the ever-increasing flow of information, which makes it possible to acquire knowledge in practically any area of life, the ability to distinguish valuable, true and useful from fakes and often deliberate lies, which experts believe is a significant part of what we gain today, is becoming increasingly important. Particularly at risk in this regard are the elderly, who are accustomed to believing in the media and who are unable to distinguish truth from lies well enough. This often poses a threat to their health, safety and well-being, increases their distrust of politicians and the media, contributes to their alienation and increases depression. Seniors are often helped to solve these problems by their younger family members, although this help is usually provided by helping them to find the right information, rather than training them to handle media and other smart devices. At the same time, older people who do not live in families or do not have them are completely helpless in difficult life situations. Today's policy makers are tasked with supporting seniors in this area and helping them adapt to the new, changing media and information space. This requires specialists, training programs specially prepared for seniors and purposeful raising of their ICT and media skills. A good example of how this problem can be successfully solved is the EP and LNL project “Road Signs in Media Use” implemented by the members of the European Parliament, former Minister of Culture of the Republic of Latvia Dace Melbārde, whose target audience is Latvian library staff and seniors.