Labeling Theory and Media Stereotypes of the Elderly
Introduction
Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporary society (Kotter & Hess, 2012). The media presents messages in steady, repetitive, and compelling manner, making them believable to almost everybody. Stereotyping opinion and depictions from the media can thus have detrimental effects on the group being marginalized. Stereotypes and perceptions about aging have great impact on how the society perceives and treats the old (Bennett, 2010). Moreover, the stereotypic perceptions, whether positive or negative, affect how the old people view themselves. Stereotypes significantly influence the cognitive and functional aspects of the old and can thus have great effects on old people. Media plays a major role in dispersion of stereotypes. Most media portray ageism with extreme pessimism and often lead to rejection of the old in the society (Barnhart & Peñaloza, 2013). However, media has at times played a role in creating awareness about the need to treat the old appropriately, leading to enhanced perceptions about ageing. This paper will focus on reviewing the existing literature on media stereotypes of the elderly. The review will involve comparison and contrasting views of different researches on how the media disperses stereotypes about the elderly and the effects of such stereotype on how...
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...e and negative stereotypes result from lack of information and misconceptions and do not depict the reality about the elderly.
The issue of media stereotyping about the elderly can be addressed using the labeling theory, which argues that individual’s behaviors and self-image are shaped by the names and reputations accorded by others. Therefore, people are likely to align their behaviors with the society’s expectations or perceptions. In relation to media stereotyping, media plays a crucial role in shaping societal perceptions. Therefore, the tendency of media to symbolize the elderly as less capable physically or mentally leads to assimilation of certain behaviors by the elderly, which may destroy their self-image. Therefore, it is important that the media avoided misinformed or untruthful opinions about ageism to protect the welfare of the elderly in the society.
Ageing is something that everyone will eventually experience if they are fortunate to live a long life. The process of ageing comes with various negative and positive outlooks. In western culture, ageing for both genders is particularly condemned. In the media in particular, the process of ageing for men and women vary greatly. Where, women are condemned for ageing more than men are. Media greatly highlights on the stereotypical notion of ageing especially in the aspect of portraying men and women and their social roles through advertisement. I will be discussing
Stereotypes that are associated with a group of older individuals might consist of this particular group being less productive than younger workers within the workplace because of the label attached to their age group. Other aspects that are associated with this group is that they are susceptible to contracting Alzheimer’s disease and they are “boring” or “forgetful”, I feel as though this is the most common stereotype. It is quite unfortunate that this type of discrimination still persists. Though, no act of discrimination should exist or be justified. It is evident that one will follow a social cue to fit in with individuals of a certain group. Author Schaefer mentions that social circumstances provide cues for a person’s attitudes. (Schaefer, 2015. Pg. 38). This notion influences others to act in a particular manner in order to receive a positive or negative reaction from individuals in their proximity. These reactions result from acts or expressions of prejudice. The normative approach, a theory of prejudice, is an exemplification of
However, communication difficulties aren’t the only thing stereotypes negatively produce. The Communication Predicament Model of Aging (Ryan, Giles, Bartolucci & Henwood, 1986, as cited in Giles, Oct. 21, 2014) proposed that these negative characteristics I listed in exercise one can act as triggers for age stereotypes and lead to negative speech between the two groups (younger and older adults). This restricts communicative opportunities between said groups, encouraging less social interaction with older adults. Thus, older adults can lose a vast amount of self-esteem, creating physiological and psychological problems. I for one did not know the amount of damage categorizing older adults by their stereotypes could cause to their psyche. When my grandfather was 75 years old, he was put into the hospital for heart problems and my family would visit him often. I always remember my mother and father slowing their speech down, or just talking differently towards him while he was in the hospital bed. It is as if seeing my grandfather in a hospital bed triggered age stereotypes of older adults, thus changing the way my parents commutated toward them. Applying Social Identity Theory (Giles et al. 2014) presented in COMM 119 to that interaction made me realize for the future that I must look past these stereotypes, and base my communicative behaviors around the individual, and not there group. As it can lead to higher levels of self-esteem for the older adult I am addressing. Properly accommodating to the elder adults will also allow me to get rid of stereotypes and possibly see aging as more of a positive
media focuses on older people as consumers for advertising certain products or for political gain.
In fact, there was a lecture where (Joshi, 2017b) provided an example of a negative stereotype of an older adult that was illustrated with toddler like features in a comic book. This example itself demonstrates how society makes fun of older adults, which relates to the cultural differences between the western society and their values compared to the teachings and values of the east. I could relate to stereotyping older adults stemming from differences in society because eastern society for example, places more emphasis on respecting elders while being more conservative because of their knowledge and experience in life, whereas some parts of the west may be more open to each other while communicating and allowing older adults to be the comedians of society for entertainment purposes which may not be the most considerate idea. Another good example that would debunk the fact that stereotypes should not be generalized across a group of people would be in the lecture where (Joshi, 2016c) explained that many older adults return to their hobbies or activities that they used to enjoy doing when they were younger which is an example of what the continuity theory would suggest. In short, I have changed my perspective on how I use my judgment when it comes to evaluating what the media or other sources put out for their audience such as
Gainer tells how stereotypes in media have become reality throughout a long period of time. Tosi’s position is supported by clear evidence, the media represents cultures, people and races in a particular manner allowing stereotypes to flourish. Media dictates how viewers perceive themselves and people around them. By feeding audiences these images they could have a either a positive or negative impact on viewers. Constantly seeing these, will cause viewers to have automatic subconscious stereotypical thoughts about people around them.
While there are some examples of movies portraying aging in a positive light, more often movies and the media portray aging as negative. The movie ‘The Intern’ is an example of this. In the movie a company creates an intern position for a senior citizen, which they hope will assist with their company image. The company hires a 70-year-old male. There are many negative stereotypes and points where aging is viewed negatively within the movie, including the technology gap, where the intern cannot use emails or create a facebook account, the intern carries an old 70s style briefcase
"The Impact of Stereotyping on Young People." MediaSmarts. National Film Board of Canada, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
A stereotype is defined as ‘an exaggerated and often prejudiced view of a type of person or group of people’ (Novak, Campbell, & Northcott, 2014, pg. 5). Stereotypes often develop from observations/information that tend to not be true. If they turn out to be true then they are exaggerated and distorted. Further, if someone is found who does not fit the stereotype they are considered to be an exception. Some stereotypes positively portray the elderly but most have a negative impact. This can create prejudice and discrimination towards the elderly which can negatively impact their quality of life (Novac et al., 2014).
Women over forty are constantly being either ignored or belittled in the media. There are countless women in their twenties and early thirties all over television and the movies. In magazines, the models tend to be much younger. Many are under twenty.
stereotypes and reinforcing the realities of aging as they care for older adults in all care
Stereotypes can be conceived with positive or negative connotations. The positive stereotype is one that represents an idea that may have been lost, or a desire one cannot obtain. The negative s...
On a daily basis we are subjected to a society that continuously uses stratification to divide members of the population into subgroups, such as; ‘gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, disability, sexuality and location, and in which the privileges, disadvantages and exclusions associated with such categories are unevenly distributed.’ Due to this, we are forced to question if gender stereotypes in the media have a negative impact in society.
Usually, we have stereotypes about persons who are members of groups with which we have not had firsthand contact. We regularly make these stereotypical generalizations based on experiences we have had ourselves, seen in movies or television, read about in books and magazines, or have had related to us by family and friends. Though all these are equally significant roots for the stimulation of stereotypes, media however, is the giant force. Media propaganda is one of the main functions of society that projects stereotypical opinions or perceptions. One of the most powerful forces, propaganda in the media combined with stereotypes often act together to accomplish a homogenized and often misleading view about society and its people.
The mass media has played a key role in shaping people’s lives. The modern society’s use of mass media including TV, radio, newspaper, as well as print media has largely influenced people’s ideas regarding themselves and the society at large. This is evident from their behavior towards themselves and their community as well as their treatment of the environment. While some experts believe that the media is to blame for most of the negative behavioral traits among the active members of society, the majority agree that the media makes people understand and develop a positive sense of association with their society within which they live, making it easy for them to identify and get their role in it.