AARP Hearing Center
There has been a significant improvement in how older adults are portrayed online compared to five years ago, according to a recent AARP study. Negative sentiment in online images dropped from 28% in 2018 to just 10% in 2023.
To get a sense of how older adults are depicted, researchers reviewed a random sample of more than 1,000 online images from brands and thought leaders posted on news and entertainment sites and social media with at least two million followers.
Overall, the 50-plus population is pictured as more active and independent, more likely to use technology, more current in their attire, and more likely to be at home as they age.
One especially notable change was related to technology usage. In 2023, 33% of images showed people 50-plus with tech devices, up from a mere 4% in 2018. This shift more accurately reflects this age cohort, as data show that 89% of adults 50-plus own a smart phone, and 69% bought at least one tech product in the past year.
Opportunities ahead
The analysis reveals opportunities to make further improvements to online imagery, including showing more older adults working. Despite making up over one-third of the workforce, adults 50-plus at work appear in only 14% of images, virtually unchanged from 13% in 2018.
The analysis also reveals an opportunity to ensure older adults are shown in multigenerational family situations and to increase the representation of individuals with mobility limitations in online images. AARP survey data support the need for media to continue to evolve, as two-thirds of adults 50-plus (67%) agree “I wish ads had more realistic images of people my age,” an increase from 62% in 2021. (See also AARP July 2024 survey via Foresight 50+ consumer omnibus survey.)
This study included the analysis of 500 short-form videos, and overall sentiment of adults 50-plus was positive (92% vs. 90% for images). Video’s multidimensional format allows it to better highlight the varied interests of older adults. Videos were more likely than images to show older adults interacting with others, using technology, and being in the outdoors.
Methodology
A random sample of 1,034 images and 500 videos were drawn from more than 4.4 million images downloaded from professional and semiprofessional domains and social distributions for brands and thought leaders, defined as having at least two million followers. The media sources consisted of public digital and social content on news sites, blogs, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in 2023.
Natural language processing technology was used to find images and videos across a range of topics including family, finances, healthy living, medical, recreation, technology, travel, and workplace. Content related to elections of politics were excluded. The study was executed in 2024 by Social Context Labs, Inc.
For more information, please contact Sonya Gross at sgross@aarp.org or Lauren Goodson at lgoodson@aarp.org. For media inquiries, please contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.
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