Inaccurate depictions of social groups in society are very prominently displayed across many media platforms such as television and advertisements. These types of false narratives can be very offensive to people as they attempt to oversimplify and generalize beliefs that undermine the true characteristics of a group (Gruman, et al., 2017). A specific instance where stereotypes have taken a toll on people is how older people are becoming victims of ageism and are being displayed as “out of touch” and “basically dead” (Hsu, 2019). The inaccurate representation that elderly people face can eventually lead to stereotype threat. By being overly exposed to seeing elderly people being inept with using technology or showing them having difficulty moving around, old people may be afraid of acting in a way that proves the negative stereotypes. Many prior studies have indicated that when people are aware of negative stereotypes, they begin to show performance deficits in tasks that are related to the stereotype. By having those false beliefs in the back of one’s mind, people may either believe the stereotypes are true or they may become so consumed in trying to defy them that they might perform poorly (Gruman, et al., 2017). Many times, advertisers attempt to push a certain narrative in order to sell a product or an idea. For instance, if a medical group is trying to push for elderly people to buy a supplement that increases people’s energy, they may create an advertisement that shows people having a difficult time getting up and just being able to function normally. Elderly people in the real world may be offended by these stereotypes that are placed on them and feel worried that they may live up to them and prove this idea.
In an article from the New York Times, Tiffany Hsu sheds light on how false and inaccurate beliefs of elderly people are being reflected in the media (2019). One- third of the people in the United States are over the age of 50. Out of this group, 53 million of them are still employed and in the workforce. However, the AARP, which is the largest nonprofit organization that “empowers” Americans 50 and older, has rarely showed people in this age group working and instead show them at home with a partner. Another common stereotype that older people have is that they do not know how to use technology such as a smart phone or a computer. To buttress this stereotype, only 5% showed by the AARP involves elderly people using technology (Hsu, 2019). This statistic does not coincide with the fact that 55% to 73% of elderly people own a smart phone (Hsu, 2019). Besides the AARP, many phone companies only show younger people using smartphones while they show elderly people still using flip phones. From the inconsistencies between what the media shows and what is actually true, it seems that advertisers are the more “out of touch” group rather than the elderly population.
Many large advertisers and imaging companies, such as Getty Images, have also noticed that there is a need to show elderly people living active lives. The reason we are still seeing elderly people being displayed as weaker and less mobile is due to ageism as well as trends that we have seen in the past since influencing today’s beliefs. At one point in history, most people did not live above the age of 45, and those who did were very frail and could not live an independent life. In addition, in the past few decades, medicine was not as advanced as it used to be so many elderly people were being diagnosed with severe medical problems that prevented them from living normally. Arthritis is a very common condition that elderly people have and at one point, there was very few medications that could effectively control it. Due to this, elderly people could not move around very well because of joint pain and were reduced to staying at home. However, with the advancement of medicine today, there are many options for people to control their arthritis and other conditions that may have prevented them from living an active lifestyle.
Many initiatives have been implemented in efforts to change the popular beliefs of elderly people. Recently, advertising companies are portraying the process of aging as “a journey of limitless opportunities and person growth” and not “a time of anxiety and anxiety” (Hsu, 2019). I think this message is especially important because aging is a beautiful thing and not something to be ashamed or worried about. These negative beliefs that are tied to getting older is what makes people going through this process fear being seen as incompetent and disabled. The constant stereotypes can make people fearful about their inevitable fate of aging and be afraid of having these stereotypes come to fruition. However, as we have seen from the statistics previously and even in the real world, many elderly people are more active and present in society than even some younger groups. Many are keeping up to date with the latest technology, are still working and enjoying life. Some makeup companies are beginning to see this and are using elderly people in their advertisements to promote their products (Hsu, 2019).
Stereotypes can be very dangerous to people’s self esteem as often times they are not accurate and tend to oversimplify a group of people. Common negative stereotypes include women being bad drivers or bad at math, and older people are incapable of keeping up in a rather fast paced society. These statements can be very damaging and can affect people’s performance in different aspects of life (Gruman, et al., 2017). The worst thing that people can feel when it comes to stereotypes is that they are living up to them and proving them correct. It is important that people note that stereotypes are strictly just words and have no bearing on who they are as an individual. This way, we can collectively move away from negative generalizations about groups and focus more on getting to know people individually.
-Madison Laezzo
Sources:
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE.
Hsu, T. (2019). Older People Are Ignored and Distorted in Ageist Marketing, Report Finds. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/business/ageism-advertising-aarp.html.
Thank you for your post, Madison! I think that you have brought up a very important point about the stereotypes of ageism. Personally, I am dealing with a 66 year old mother who is embracing the negative stereotype. She was a high-level administrator at Procter & Gamble for almost 40 years. She was amazing at her job and utilized technology every single day. Now that she has been retired for about 10 years, this woman has basically forgotten how to use an internet browser. I feel that she has fallen prey to the negative advertising that you have mentioned. I am currently in the process of relocating her and my aunt to Florida from Ohio so I can help them get out of the negative stereotype. Mom uses a flip phone, yells at the computer and can’t make it print, grunts every single time she stands up, and she’s far too young for this. Since she will be close by, I can help her remember how to use all of the tasks on the computer, I can help her use the “easy-mode” on a smartphone, and I’m pretty sure that I can get her to go to yoga with me after a few at-home sessions.
I’m going to use the contact hypothesis, where I start introducing her to other people her age who are currently her out-group, people who are active and tech savvy. At this time, she thinks those who are more active in their older age are just lucky, when in fact, she’s very much like them. She is in very good health, just a little stiff and hasn’t been exposed to technological advancement. She is making a few small steps, even though she is still in Ohio for a few months. I have convinced her to go deep sea fishing with me!
Hello Madison,
You bring to light an important issue. Your topic of ageism and the prevalence of the stereotyping of the elderly population is very relevant today, as the United States Census Bureau reported that in 2017, the elderly population (age 65 and over) was 47.8, or 14.9%, of the total U.S. population; that number is projected to more than double by the year 2060 (2018). Advertising companies will try their hardest to figure out what type of advertising sells their product and, many times, they will prey on fears to increase their profits. They may also want to perpetuate popular negative stereotypes, such as the one you point out about how the elderly people don’t use technology, and if they do, they are fairly inept at doing so. They will paint the picture in whatever way will sell their product best. For example, an I-phone commercial by Apple would probably love to show elderly people using their products and being tech–savvy so the old folks can run right out and buy one! Stereotypes in advertising can be used positively or negatively depending on the desired result of doing so.
In real life, not in advertising, evolutionary psychology discusses an evolutionary basis for social categorization—people classify others in order to protect themselves and to know who may be safe—the theory is that the more alike genetically you are to others, the more you may accept them into your group because they are considered safer to associate with. Also, people different from you may carry strange and new diseases with them that you may not be able to protect against. So while this vulnerability that may make humans predisposed to categorizing strangers may be understandable or even rational, it is not the type of behavior that is needed anymore in today’s modern world. Travel, globalization, news media outlets, and scientific progress and knowledge have all inoculated us against “stranger danger” to a large extent. Unfortunately however, prejudice, as a result of social categorization, remains and persists within our societies.
References
United States Census Bureau. (2018). Facts for Features: Older Americans Month: May 2017. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/cb17-ff08.html