People of different age groups usually show different habits and preferences when setting passwords. The following is a summary of common password patterns for each age group: ### **1. Teenagers (13-19 years old)** - **Short and easy to remember**: Prefer birthdays, nicknames, simple words or number combinations, such as "123456" or "qwerty". - **Popular culture related**: Often reference favorite stars, anime characters, game names, etc., such as "HarryPotter" or "Gamer123". - **Simple combination of letters and numbers**: Such as "Abc123" or "Password1". - **Repeating or sequential numbers**: For example, "111111" or "123123". ### **2. Young adults (20-35 years old)** - **Mixed character usage**: Tend to use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special symbols, such as "P@ssw0rd!". - **Meaningful phrases or sentences**: Use easy-to-remember phrases and add variations, such as "I<3Coffee2024". - **Use password management tools**: In order to manage multiple accounts, you may use complex and unique passwords and save them through password management software. - **Personal interest related**: Combine personal hobbies or important events, such as "Travel!2023" or "Fitness#1". ### **3. Middle-aged people (36-55 years old)** - **Family-related information**: Use family members' names, important dates, etc., such as "JohnDoe1980" or "Spring@2023". - **Easy to remember phrases**: Use easy-to-remember but relatively complex phrases, such as "BlueSky#2023". - **Reuse passwords**: For convenience, you may use the same or similar passwords on multiple platforms. - **Moderately complex**: Although you try to add numbers and symbols, the complexity is sometimes insufficient, such as "Secure123". ### **4. Elderly people (over 56 years old)** - **Simple and forgettable**: Tend to use simple numbers or words, such as "password" or "123456". - **Traditional vocabulary**: Common Chinese words or phrases are used, such as "北京2023" or "快乐". - **Lack of diversity**: Special characters or combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters are rarely used. - **Written records**: Passwords are sometimes written on paper or recorded in physical notes instead of relying on memory or digital management tools. ### **Overall observations** - **Differences in security awareness**: Young people and young adults generally have a higher awareness of cybersecurity and tend to use more complex and unique passwords; while middle-aged and elderly people may have a lower understanding of password complexity and security and are prone to using weak passwords. - **Use of technical tools**: Younger groups are more likely to use password management tools and two-factor authentication to improve the security of passwords; while older people may use these tools less. - **The impact of education and training**: With the popularization of cybersecurity education, the behavior of people of all ages in password setting is gradually improving, but there are still significant differences among different age groups overall. ### **Suggestions** - **Improving security awareness**: People of all ages should strengthen their awareness of password security and avoid using passwords that are too simple or repetitive. - **Use a password manager**: Especially for young adults and middle-aged people who need to manage multiple accounts, it helps generate and store complex passwords. - **Use two-factor authentication**: Increase the security of your account, not just relying on the password itself. - **Change your password regularly**: Develop the habit of updating your password regularly to reduce the risk of being cracked. By understanding the password usage habits of different age groups, we can conduct more targeted cybersecurity education and measures to improve the overall level of cybersecurity.