Portrayal Of Older Adults Research Articles

The "Angry (Digital) Silver" in South Korea: The Rhetoric Around Older Adults' Digital Media Literacy.

Naïve yet threatening is how the South Korean news media have characterized some older adults who have taken to social media to air their political views. Labeled as "angry (digital) silver," these older adults using YouTube and other social media platforms for political activity are portrayed as digitally illiterate and aggressive. This paper examines the rhetoric surrounding older adults' digital media literacy in scholarship and popular news media with a focus on the news media's portrayal of older adults' digital political activity. By analyzing the use of language and various rhetorical strategies, I argue that specific rhetoric of caution, which warns against older adults' so-called lower digital media literacy, is used to invalidate their digital political activity. I draw upon the case of the "Taegukgi squad"-a political group mainly composed of older adults in South Korea-and the evolution of their digital presence. Addressing the media's biased portrayal of older adults' digital media literacy, this paper further invites reflection on controversies around the role of age in digital political activities around the globe.

Judging a book by its older adult cover: age-related expectations and parental preference for children’s books

As they typically have limited direct contact, children’s attitudes towards older adults have more opportunity to be shaped by other social influences such as their parents and children’s literature. Children’s books have been noted for their tendency to portray older adults in stereotypical ways and their tendencies to underrepresent older adults. We investigated how the portrayal of older adults as major versus supporting characters, as well as parents’ age-related expectations were related to parental preference for children’s books. We designed 24 children’s book covers that depicted an older adult as a main character, a younger adult as a main character, or only children. One-hundred-seventy-five parents of children ages 0–12 rated their preference for the covers, their age-related expectations for the books’ stories, and their personal aging expectations. Parents preferred covers featuring only children, and this preference was stronger for parents with more positive personal aging expectations. Cover preference was further predicted by age-related story expectations. When parents expected a book to conform to older-age stereotypes, they liked that particular cover less. Controlling for parents’ age-related story expectations for each book resulted in near equal levels of preference for all types of book covers. Carefully designed children’s books could provide an opportunity to increased vicarious intergenerational contact. These finding suggests that parents’ interest in selecting these books for their children will be higher when they do not perceive the books to align with older-age stereotypes.

Ambient ageism: Exploring ageism in acoustic representations of older adults in AgeTech advertisements.

Ageing-in-place environments are increasingly marked by ambient digital technologies designed to keep older adults safe while they live independently at home. These AgeTech companies market their products by constructing imagined visual and aural worlds of the smart home, usually deploying ageist representations of ageing and older adults. The advertisements are multimodal, and while what is seen on screen is often considered most important in a visuo-centric western culture, scholars have argued that it is what audiences hear that has the greatest impact. The acoustic domain of AgeTech advertisements and its relationship to ageism in marketing has not yet been explored. Accordingly, this paper will address this gap by following Van Leeuwen's framework for critical analysis of musical discourse to explore what AgeTech companies say about ageing, older adults, and ageing-in-place technologies using sound in an illustrative set of smart home advertisements for ageing-in-place. The paper will discuss how music, voice, and sound are semiotic resources that are used to construct stereotypical (both negative and positive) portrayals of older adults, reinforce the narrative of “technology as saviour,” and trouble the private/public boundaries of the ageing-in-place smart home.

Portrayals of Older Adults in Turkish Television Commercials

Portrayals of Older Adults in Turkish Television Commercials

Decoding TikTok: Utilizing Social Media for Difficult Conversations About Ageism

Understanding ageism is a key aspect of gerontological curriculum. Media examples (e.g., television and movies) can be effective tools, and yet gerontological educators should stay updated on new media trends to encourage student interest. This presentation will explore a new social media application (i.e., TikTok) to help students recognize and dismantle their own ageist beliefs. The presenter will describe and explain the classroom activity, instructions for finding and downloading content, as well as the social media application itself. In this activity, students brainstorm their preconceived notion of older adults to catalyze open discussion regarding societal beliefs. Next, a few video examples, with both positive and negative portrayals of older adults are presented for discussion. Students may also bring other examples for participation credit to this class. This symposium presentation will include an interview activity guide, additional breakout group instructions, and other tips for creating impactful class discussion on ageism.

Ageism in COVID-Related Newspaper Coverage: The First Month of a Pandemic.

ObjectivesMedia sources have consistently described older adults as a medically vulnerable population during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, yet a lack of concern over their health and safety has resulted in dismissal and devaluation. This unprecedented situation highlights ongoing societal ageism and its manifestations in public discourse. This analysis asks how national news sources performed explicit and implicit ageism during the first month of the pandemic.MethodUsing content and critical discourse analysis methods, we analyzed 287 articles concerning older adults and COVID-19 published between March 11 and April 10, 2020, in 4 major U.S.-based newspapers. ResultsFindings indicate that while ageism was rarely discussed explicitly, ageist bias was evident in implicit reporting patterns (e.g., frequent use of the term “elderly,” portrayals of older adults as “vulnerable”). Infection and death rates and institutionalized care were among the most commonly reported topics, providing a limited portrait of aging during the pandemic. The older “survivor” narrative offers a positive alternative by suggesting exceptional examples of resilience and grit. However, the survivor narrative may also implicitly place blame on those unable to survive or thrive in later life.DiscussionThis study provides insight for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners exploring societal perceptions of older adults and how these perceptions are disseminated and maintained by the media.

Diversity and age stereotypes in portrayals of older adults in popular American primetime television series

AbstractTo examine the prevalence and diversity of older adults on primetime television, and age stereotyping in these portrayals, we analysed the contents of 112 episodes of popular American television series aired between 2004 and 2018. We identified 6.6 per cent of characters as aged 65 and older – a slight improvement to the values reported in previous studies. However, older adult characters are still grossly under-represented, considering the actual proportion of older adults in the general population of the United States of America. Further, the typical older character was young-old, male, Caucasian, middle-class, able-bodied and straight – if his sexuality was referenced. Older women still face double discrimination in media representations. In addition, older adult characters with ethnicities other than Caucasian and African American are virtually invisible in primetime fiction series. Similarly, old-old characters, sexual minorities and persons with disabilities are particularly rare among older adult characters in this type of programming. Finally, portrayals of 51.9 per cent of characters included at least some elements of age stereotypes, most of which were positive. The most commonly applied positive and negative stereotypes were found to be the golden ager and the shrew, respectively. The findings are discussed in the context of the dominant discourse of ageing and the potential implications of how various social groups perceive ageing and older adults.

Media and age-coded representations of later life: An analysis of selected print advertisements of English-language magazines in India

ABSTRACTThis study examines the representation of older adults in print advertisements in an English-language magazine in post-reform India. Employing content analysis, this study finds a growing disenchantment of the Indian media with the image of a “happy joint family.” A higher proportion of older adults are now portrayed alone or with younger adults compared to earlier portrayals with people of all age groups in an ad. Further, the portrayal of older adults as both parent and grandparent in the same ad has also reduced over the years, hinting at the restructured ideas of time, successful aging, and later life identities.

From “Bibbid-Bobbidi-Boo” to Scrooge: an update and comparative analysis of the portrayal of older characters in recent Disney animated films

Disney animated films continue to be a medium viewed by millions of young audiences across the world. As such, Disney content messages – which are often repeatedly viewed by children – and correlating implications should frequently be assessed. The objective for this investigation was to evaluate the portrayal of older adults in more recent Disney animated films (from 2004 to 2016) to provide both an update and comparative analysis to previous explorations. Results suggest comparable findings: we note a similarity in the overall negative portrayal of older characters in recent Disney animated films compared to previous films. Furthermore, we observed a decrease in “neutral” or general aging qualities, as well as a slight increase in the number of older adults depicted as “the villain.” Implications and observations are offered in efforts to improve ageist representations, particularly in a medium that is exceptionally prevalent in the lives of many young people.

Laughing off the Stereotypes: Age and Aging in Seniors' Online Sex-Related Humor.

Focusing on sex, the most salient topic featured in ageist jokes, this study aims at exploring the extent to which seniors' own humor reflects common ageist stereotypes or rather echoes contemporary consumer society representations of seniors' sexuality. The study was based on a quantitative content analysis of 300 humorous sex-related messages posted during one full year by members of 14 leading online communities for seniors. Findings indicated that whereas the portrayal of older adults in humor typically relied on negative ageist stereotypes, their representation in seniors' online sex-related humor depended on the social identity of the butt of this humor. If it was an in-group member (oneself, another community member, or the community as a whole), the portrayal was rather positive, but when the butt belonged to the out-group (older adults in general), the depiction was far more ageist. Nonetheless, the representation of older butts of humor was generally more positive than that of the younger ones. These findings suggest that seniors tend to identify with current cultural representations of sexuality in later life and use sex-related humor as a personal means of resisting ageism. They apply two principal strategies: Distancing-reproducing certain ageist stereotypes by ascribing them to other older adults, but less so to their own group and even less than that to themselves-and equalizing older and younger individuals, even according the former an advantage regarding sexuality.

Aging and older adults in three Roman Catholic magazines: Successful aging and the Third and Fourth Ages reframed

This article is a qualitative content analysis of how aging and older adults are represented in the articles of three Roman Catholic magazines in the United States: America, Commonweal, and U.S. Catholic. The findings suggest that, as in mainstream secular magazines, the concept of successful aging is common in portrayals of older adults in the Third Age. Distinctive in Catholic magazine portrayals of successful aging is an emphasis on meaningful activity and on the wisdom that is gained and transmitted in this stage of life. In contrast to the lack of attention to Fourth Age decline in mainstream magazines, in the Catholic publications the difficult features of such deterioration are acknowledged but are also reframed as potential sources of value. The theoretical implications of these more complex faith-based renderings of the Third and Fourth Ages are briefly explored.

Portrayals of older adults in UK magazine advertisements: Relevance of target audience

Older people are an increasingly important consumer group and hence advertising target, yet relatively little research in the UK and in Europe (as opposed to the USA) has examined how older adults are portrayed in advertising. In this study, a sample of 221 magazine advertisements depicting older adults were coded for features such as the advertised products, setting, role prominence, rhetorical scheme, tone and type of portrayal. In a departure from previous studies, we devised a set of six descriptive ‘types’ which encapsulate the way older people are portrayed in these advertisements. Also, and as the main focus of this paper, we compared a magazine designed for people over 50 (Saga Magazine) to ten general readership magazines in order to investigate any differences in the portrayal of older adults in (older)age-targeted vs. general readership advertising. Previous research on old age stereotyping, social identity theory and inter-group theory form the basis of our analysis.

Portrayals of Older Adults in U.S. and Indian Magazine Advertisements: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

The authors investigated cross-cultural media portrayals of older adults and other age groups across the lifespan through a content analysis of U.S. and Indian magazine advertisements (N = 1,464), focusing on the characters portrayed in these advertisements (N = 1,445). Forty U.S. and Indian magazines were randomly selected across genres such as sports, women's interest, news, general interest, and entertainment magazines. The authors examined the association of age of characters with product advertised, health and gender of characters, and relational context of portrayals. Results indicated that older adults as well as children and teens were underrepresented in both cultures. Overall, women were overrepresented in younger age groups and underrepresented in older age groups, with this pattern being stronger in India. Indian advertisements portrayed characters in spousal relationships significantly more than U.S. advertisements. References to aging and older adulthood were more common in U.S. advertisements, as were overall associations between ill health and older adulthood.

Development of a virtual learning environment to enhance undergraduate nursing students’ effectiveness and interest in working with older people

Throughout the world populations are aging and there is a concomitant global need for increasing numbers of nurses who are skilled in working with older people. The aim of this study was to develop a web-based resource for use in nursing schools to help educate undergraduate nursing students about working effectively with older people. This paper details the process of developing the working with older people website, www.workingwitholderpeople.edu.au, which was launched at the end of 2006. The working with older people website was designed for use as a stand alone or self directed program and/or as a set of modules suitable for integration within individual undergraduate nursing programs. The resource is unique in its portrayal of older adults and the challenges they face in a way that is appealing to undergraduate students, and engages them in meaningful learning activities, based on authentic cases, while also providing comprehensive resources and links.

Growing up and Growing Older Books for Young Readers

Early children's literature plays a major role in the development of attitudes. This annotated bibliography is a compilation of early children's literature that contains positive portrayals of elders. Selected for the bibliography were books that portray aging as a natural and lifelong process of growing and developing, present similarities between young and old, show young and old enjoying each other and learning from each other, and view older adults as valuable and contributing members of society. The annotated bibliography contains 95 current titles. It also pinpoints 14 favorite books and lists 9 now out-of-print favorites. Includes a literature analysis form for promoting positive attitudes about aging with young children. (NKA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Growing Up and Growing Older: Books for Young Readers An Annotated Bibliography of Nonageist Literature for Preschool-Primary by Dr. Sandra L. McGuire The author would like to acknowledge The University of Tennessee Professional Development Award program for its support of this project. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as CA received from the person or organization Noriginating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 't7:1 C/) Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVAlLABLE 2 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Growing Up and Growing Older: Books for Young Readers An Annotated Bibliography of Nonageist Literature for Preschool-Primary by Dr. Sandra L. McGuire INTRODUCTION Early children's literature plays a major role in the development of attitudes. This annotated bibliography is a compilation of early children's literature that contains positive portrayals of elders. Books were selected that portray aging as a natural and lifelong process of growing and developing, present similarities between young and old, show young and old enjoying each other and learning from each other, and view older adults as valuable and contributing members of society. Books have not been included that deal extensively with death, dying and disability. These topics are not synonymous with aging. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in children's literature in relation to aging. Elder heroes, role models, workers, leaders, famous older people, planning for old age and similarities beyond young are essentially missing. When elders are portrayed they are most often in the role of a grandparent. Many portrayals of older adults are stereotypic in nature. Many children's books have no older characters in them. To assist in locating and ordering book only books-in-print have been listed. When two book prices are listed, the first price is for the hardbound edition and the second for the paperback edition. Unfortunately, many children's books quickly go out-of-print, and a short booklist of some favorite OOPS (out-of-print stories) is given. We need to work with authors and publishers to keep excellent stories, such as those on the OOPS list, in print. All books should be reviewed for appropriateness prior to use. If the reading level of a book is beyond that of the child you can the story. Having an read the book to the child can be a great experience. Who better to talk about growing up and growing older than an elder. Whether the children read the books themselves, or have the books read to them, the stories can stimulate interesting discussions. Use the books to help children think in terms of lifespan activities and see their elder within.* It is hoped that both adults and children will enjoy the books listed, and that the books will make a significant contribution to promoting positive attitudes about aging with children. Some of the author's favorite in print books are given at the end of the booklist. Aging education units have to accompany the booklist are available through the National Academy for Teaching and Learning About Aging (NATLA) at the University of North Texas (http://www.unt.edu/natla). A form to use for analyzing children's books for ageism is included at the back of the booklist. Please contact the author: Dr. Sandra L. McGuire, Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, phone: (865) 974-7589 or 966-8832 with questions. *Elder within is a term used by Ken Dychtwald and Joe Fowler in their book Age Wave (1990). New York: Bantam Books.

Older Adult Portrayal in Television Commercials by Pharmaceutical Manufacturers: An Analysis

ABSTRACTThis research study examined the portrayal of older adults in pharmaceutical manufacturers' television commercials. Content analysis was employed to assess the commercials. The results of the study suggest that the commercials portrayed the elderly less frequently and less favorably than younger persons. Several implications for pharmaceutical manufacturers who sponsor television commercials are raised as they relate to the depiction of older adults.

The Portrayal of Older Adults in Indian and U.S. Magazine Advertisements

This paper reports a content analysis of print advertisements from five popular magazines in the United States and five in India. Advertisements featuring older adults were examined to describe the nature of the portrayals. Older adults were shown to be presented in a relatively positive light in both cultures, that is, well groomed, active, healthy, and happy. However, older women were underrepresented in both cultures as compared with older men. Cultural differences were found in terms of the products with which older adult characters were associated, the types of magazines in which they were featured, and the physical and social settings in which they were shown. The results of the study are discussed in terms of theoretical and applied issues and suggestions for future research are provided.

OPRTRAYALS OF OLDER ADULTS IN MODERN MATURITY ADVERTISEMENTS

Portrayals of older adults in advertisements in Modern Maturity were analyzed to identify any pattern of stereotyping based on age and gender. Content analysis was conducted of full‐page advertisements depicting people in issues from December 1987 to November 1991. Of the 342 people depicted in 174 advertisements selected for analysis, 145 (42%) appeared to be older adults. Only 4% of the people in the advertisements were minorities. Significantly more older adults in the advertisements were male than female.

Older consumers' use of media for fashion information

This study explored the perceptions of older mass media consumers with respect to portrayals of older adults in the media and to the processing of appearance symbols and fashion information. The data suggest that the use of television for information processing of this sort is likely to be implicit. Females and males with higher clothing expenditures were most likely to report such usage.

The daytime television drama portrayal of older adults.

The daytime television drama portrayal of older adults.