Media representation of older people’s vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Abstract

Older adults have gained great media attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they were believed to be vulnerable to the novel virus based on clinical data and epidemiological evidence. The high volume of media coverage played an important role in calling for improved public health services for the older population. Nevertheless, problematic media representations of older people might evoke or amplify ageism during the pandemic. Therefore, drawing on empirical data collected from five mainstream Chinese media outlets between January 3 and May 3, 2020, this study examined how the media constructed the vulnerability of older adults and its underlying ageist thinking during the pandemic. The findings showed that the media had clear preferences in constructing older people as passive recipients while seeking resources from families, public institutions and governments at various levels to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the media adopted a biomedical-centred framework presenting older people as a homogenous group that was vulnerable to the pandemic. In addition, we found that the media representations of older adults intensified the dichotomised relationship between the young and the old, causing the younger generations to perceive older people as a ‘threat’ to public health. Moving beyond the Chinese case, this article appeals to the media to be socially responsible by avoiding the stereotyping of the older population and uniting the whole society to combat COVID-19. The findings of this study will help raise awareness among policymakers and care service providers, which is crucial to eliminating ageist attitudes across society and to further allowing the values of older individuals to be fully recognised.

Older adults’ perceptions and experiences of ageism during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Participants were asked whether they had encountered five unique messages in the media during the pandemic (e.g., a message that advised older people not to leave their home at all because of COVID‐19, see Supplementary materials ). We developed these items based on other work published during the pandemic (Jen et al., 2021 ) highlighting the ageism that imbued media coverage about older adults and the pandemic (Ayalon et al., 2021 ; Zhang & Liu, 2021 ). Any time participants were asked about messages in “the media,” we directed them to think about examples from all media sources, including newspapers, television, the internet, and the radio, as concurrent research to our own indicated that these messages were omnipresent across media sources internationally (Jen et al., 2021 ; Jimenez‐Sotomayor et al., 2020 ; Meisner, 2021 ; Ng et al., 2022 ); however, we did not ask participants to specify in their responses where they had encountered a particular message.…”

Representations of older adults in COVID-related newspaper articles: A comparison between the perspectives of older and younger adults

“…Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, media representations of older adults have emphasized their physical dependency and frailty ( Jen et al, 2021 ). Older adults have been represented as a homogeneous group based solely upon their chronological age, ignoring their internal diversity ( Zhang & Liu, 2021 ). Similarly, the present analysis found that older adults were frequently represented in an unfavorable but consistent manner, being depicted as a vulnerable group who offer debatable or little value to society.…”

“…Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, early media analyses of pandemic discourses and portrayals found that older adults were largely represented as a homogenous, biomedically-framed population “at risk” and “vulnerable” to the effects of the virus ( Jen et al, 2021 ; Previtali, Allen, & Varlamova, 2020 ; Zhang & Liu, 2021 ). The media's mention of skilled nursing facilities also tripled in the early stages of the pandemic, focusing attention on staggering infection and death rates ( Miller, Simpson, Nadash, & Gusmano, 2021 ).…”

“…The media's mention of skilled nursing facilities also tripled in the early stages of the pandemic, focusing attention on staggering infection and death rates ( Miller, Simpson, Nadash, & Gusmano, 2021 ). Even when portrayed within more positive framings, older adults were still depicted as being served by another population, such as being described as recipients of neighborly good deeds or beneficiaries of senior shopping hours ( Jen et al, 2021 ; Zhang & Liu, 2021 ), supporting notions of older adults as weak or helpless and in need of protection against COVID-19 ( Jimenez-Sotomayor, Gomez-Moreno, & Soto-Perez-de-Celis, 2020 ). As a consequence of the negative portrayal of older people in the media, older adults may be viewed more negatively by younger individuals.…”

Tale of two countries: attitudes towards older persons in Italy and Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic as seen through the looking-glass of the media

“…The relationship between COVID-19 pandemic, ageism and media communication has been analysed in previous studies. An empirical Chinese research, 12 for example, has collected data using mixed method (both qualitative and quantitative) based on content analysis from five mainstream Chinese media outlets. The analyses took into account 568 articles of various types published between 3 January 2020 and 3 May 2020.…”