Title | Facebook as a site for negative age stereotypes. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2014 |
Authors | Levy BR, Chung PH, Bedford T, Navrazhina K |
Journal | Gerontologist |
Volume | 54 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 172-6 |
Date Published | 2014 Apr |
ISSN | 1758-5341 |
Keywords | Aged, Aging, Female, Humans, Male, Prejudice, Retrospective Studies, Social Media, Stereotyping |
Abstract | Ageism has been found to exist throughout a wide variety of societal institutions. Whether it also exists in social networking sites has not been previously considered. To explore this possibility, we conducted a content analysis of each publicly accessible Facebook group that concentrated on older individuals. The site "Descriptions" of the 84 groups, with a total of 25,489 members, were analyzed. The mean age category of the group creators was 20-29; all were younger than 60 years. Consistent with our hypothesis, the Descriptions of all but one of these groups focused on negative age stereotypes. Among these Descriptions, 74% excoriated older individuals, 27% infantilized them, and 37% advocated banning them from public activities, such as shopping. Facebook has the potential to break down barriers between generations; in practice, it may have erected new ones. |
DOI | 10.1093/geront/gns194 |
Alternate Journal | Gerontologist |
PubMed ID | 23392643 |
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