Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore two channels of communication (i.e. texts and images) from a non-governmental organization website called #DisruptAging with the aim of finding how multimodal knowledge dissemination contributes to dismantling misconceptions about the aging process.Design/methodology/approachThis analysis is based on an integrated approach that combines corpus-assisted discourse analysis (cf. Semino and Short, 2004; Baker et al., 2008, Baker, 2010) and multimodal critical discourse analysis (Machin and Mayr, 2012) via the American Medical Association format (2007) and the suite of FrameWorks tools (2015, 2017), which are applied to the collection of texts and images taken from #DisruptAging.FindingsA total of 69 stories corresponding with 218 images of older adults have shown to be powerful textual and semiotic resources, designed both for educational and awareness-raising purposes, to promote the so-called “aging well discourse” (cf. Loos et al., 2017).Social implicationsThis discursive approach to the textual and visual material found in #DisruptAging hopes to influence the governing institutions that we construct, and the people who are given power to run them, with the goal of fostering fair treatment of older people within society.Originality/valueThere is a lack of studies investigating counter-discourse forms available online, which use textual and visual language to change the way society conceives the idea of aging.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper is to explore two channels of communication from a non-governmental organization website called #DisruptAging with the aim of finding how multimodal knowledge dissemination contributes to dismantling misconceptions about the aging process
Materials for this study are taken from the website #DisruptAging [2] which is an American information service designed by the AARP Real Possibilities [3] to have a new conversation about how we want to live and age, through various multimedia resources, i.e. stories, images, articles in newsletters, videos and links to Social Network Sites (SNSs; e.g. Facebook and Twitter)
We can identify how two predominant cultural models suggested by the FrameWorks approach across the corpus of stories are illustrated
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to explore two channels of communication (i.e. texts and images) from a non-governmental organization website called #DisruptAging with the aim of finding how multimodal knowledge dissemination contributes to dismantling misconceptions about the aging process. This can have a negative impact on self-esteem, health status, physical well-being and cognitive performance of older people; on the other, it inevitably determines the societal exclusion of the older-old, especially those who are no longer able to be embedded in the discourse of successful and active aging (Ylanne, 2012; Martin et al, 2015) Such biased (often negative) visions of the aging process can be implemented by the use of linguistic forms that have a negative connotation and can manipulate the minds and cognitive processes of aging, causing it to be stigmatized by the whole community. Bearing in mind the aforementioned consequences which such stereotyped visions can have, there is an urgent need to encourage the creation of “counter-discourse” forms using power and authority to empower younger generations and convince them of the need for a societal paradigm shift as regards aging
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