Filtering Out Ageism: Unveiling Instagram's Reinforcement of Negative Stereotypes of Ageing

Abstract

This study examines the depiction of ageism on Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms. With over one billion active users, Instagram is a powerful medium for shaping societal attitudes toward ageing and older adults. Through a review of existing litera-ture, this study explores the prevalence and nature of ageist content on Instagram, its impact on users, particularly older adults, and the role of Instagram's algorithms in promoting ageist content. The study also investigates the potential for Instagram to promote positive represen-tations of ageing and countering ageist stereotypes. This study adopted a qualitative approach to find the data through hashtags and keywords. The findings suggest that ageist content, par-ticularly prevalent on Instagram and often around age-related physical changes, can contrib-ute to negative self-perceptions of ageing among older adults. Instagram's algorithms have also been found to promote ageist content, reinforcing negative stereotypes about ageing and older adults. However, Instagram also has the potential to challenge ageist stereotypes through sharing of positive ageing experiences and counter-narratives. Overall, this study provides insights into the depiction of ageism on Instagram and highlights the need for strategies to ad-dress and combat ageism on social media platforms.

Keywords

• ageism
• instagram
• discourse analysis
• qualitative method