The age of the target group influences information preferences for health promotion messages. Factors such as the language or dialect that is used in a health promotion intervention can have an effect on the target group. Different age group use, understand and interpret language differently
Different age groups seek health information from different sources. research shows that television is cited by younger age groups as a health information preference and there were decreasing reports of the use of television as a source of health information with age, Kakai et al. also found that newspapers and magazines were perceived as and important source of information in younger age group, and health professionals were seen as a valuable source of information in other age groups and this importance increased with age. Peterson et al. found in a physical activity campaign that television was effective in reaching 18-to 30-year-olds, although it had less impact on intention to exercise than in those who saw the advertisments on billboards and bus wraps. This suggests careful analysis of information preferences that are most likely to lead to action is valuable.
A study by Graff et al. found differences in attitudes to the internet with lower age group (17-19)reporting more positive attitudes than older age groups(21-32). Again, this highlights the need to consider the target group in detail, rather than making estimations that everyone adult age range behaves identically. Age can also correlate with knowledge and Marek et al. note that older age correlate with better knowledge of sexually transmitted infections
Age can influence reaction to message content. For example, Henley and Donovan illustrate that scare in the media have little effect on older females, who respond significantly more to non-threats, whereas older males were seen to respond more to scare tactics. Other research suggests age-related complexities. For example in a drug use campaign different age groups reported different drug use levels with campaign awareness. The wording of health promotion message will also need consideration. How a health product is labeled or packaged has an impact on different audiences. Latimer et al. note that adolescent smokers find generic warning labels on cigarette packets uninteresting and irrelevant, and only pay attention or think about these labels some of the time suggesting other preventive strategies may need to be considered for younger smokers