The COVID-19 pandemic impacted people's lives all over the world, requiring health and safety measures intended to stop the virus from spreading. This study explores whether an unintended consequence of these measures is a new form of ageism. We explore, using qualitative methods, the experiences of older adults living through the pandemic in the United Kingdom and Colombia. Although there were some small differences between countries, for the most part, the experiences were similar. We found that older adults reported that they were seen as a homogenous group and experienced both benevolent and hostile ageism and a loss of autonomy as a consequence of COVID-19 protection measures. Participants from both countries expressed anger and frustration, and increased anxiety, and felt that their individuality was ignored. We recommend that policy-makers, the media, and wider society consider the impact of such health and safety measures onThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Inter- and intragenerational relationships are known to be important in maintaining the wellbeing of older people. A key aspect of these relationships is the exchange of both emotional and instrumental social support. However, relatively little is known about how this exchange of support changes in the context of widespread disruption. The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to examine how older people's family relationships are impacted by such social change. The present qualitative study explores how older people in the United Kingdom experienced changes in inter- and intragenerational support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N = 33) were recruited through a large-scale nationally representative survey (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology-consortium-covid19). We asked how life had been pre-pandemic, how they experienced the first national lockdown and what the future might hold in store. The data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. This paper focuses on the importance of family relationships and how they changed as a consequence of the pandemic. We found that the family support system had been interrupted, that there were changes in the methods of support and that feelings of belonging were challenged. We argue that families were brought into disequilibrium through changes in the exchange of inter- and intragenerational support. The important role of grandchildren for older adults was striking and challenged by the pandemic. The significance of social connectedness and support within the family had not changed during the pandemic, but it could no longer be lived in the same way. The desire to be close to family members and to support them conflicted with the risk of pandemic infection. Our study found support for the COVID-19 Social Connectivity Paradox: the need for social connectedness whilst maintaining social distance. This challenged family equilibrium, wellbeing and quality of life in older people.

Objectives The sense of belonging is a fundamental human need. Enacting it through face-to-face social activities was no longer possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we investigate how the sense of belonging, and how it is enacted, changed longitudinally amongst older adults in the UK. In addition, we examine the interplay of the sense of belonging and resilience over time. Methods We employed a longitudinal qualitative research design to explore the experiences of older adults during one year of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020-April 2021). The analysis was undertaken with constructivist grounded theory. Findings Before the pandemic older adults were free to engage in social relationships with family and friends, often enacted within social activity groups where they felt valued and gained positive experiences. During the pandemic face to face enactment of belongingness was reduced; adjustments needed to be made to maintain the sense of belonging. The experience of older adults was heterogeneous. We examine three themes. First, how belongingness was enacted prior to the pandemic. Examples include: family holidays, visiting each other, sports activities, eating with friends and family, and visiting cultural events. Second, how participants adapted and maintained their social involvement. Examples include: distanced face-to-face activities; and learning new technology. Third, for some, a belongingness gap emerged and persisted. There was an irretrievable loss of family members or friends, the closure of social groups, or withdrawal from groups as priorities changed. As a consequence, of challenged belongingness, participants expressed increased loneliness, anxiety, social isolation, frustration and, feelings of depression. For many, the disrupted sense of belonging no longer fostered resilience, and some previously resilient participants were no longer resilient.

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