Images of Old Age in the Hong Kong Print Media

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Gibb ◽  
Eleanor Holroyd
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
South China Morning ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Images

AbstractThe present study set out to identify how the experience of being old in Hong Kong is represented through images commonly recurring in the print media. A case is presented for how the media not only reflect social images and views on ageing, but actively participate in the social construction of views about being old. Two newspapers in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post (English medium) and the Sin Tao (Chinese medium), were surveyed and contents of stories depicting old age were analyzed, using a qualitative and quantitative methodological design. Dominant amongst the themes was vulnerability in old age. Newspapers used stories according to journalistic formulae to present both negative and positive depictions of old age; however, positive stories carried a sense of the exceptional rather than ordinary life. Results were analysed through a comparison between the two Hong Kong newspapers as well as a comparison with a similar study undertaken on the Australian print media.

Dementia Policy in Australia and the ‘Social Construction of Infirm Old Age

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-62
Author(s):  
Cecily Hunter ◽  
Colleen Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Old Age ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Stereotypes of Old Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (20) ◽  
pp. 69-88
Author(s):  
Christiane Monteiro Machado ◽  
Jorge Pedro Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Older People ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Ageing Process ◽  
The Media ◽  
Advertising Spending ◽  
Negative Stereotyping

Ageing, more than a demographic phenomenon (a consolidated process in Europe, still a recent one in Brazil), is a social construction influenced by the media. Advertising, which simultaneously reflects and contributes to the construction of social values, uses stereotypes as a tool for creating easily identifiable characters. This study aims at identifying aspects explored by advertising messages using stereotypes to portray older people. The sample consists of nineteen pieces selected from more than 4,500 posts on Facebook and Youtube by the ten companies with the largest advertising spending in Brazil from July 2017 to June 2018. Among the 104 pieces that feature elderly people, nineteen did use stereotypes. In twelve of them, positive stereotypes, always related to longlife accumulated experience, while seven included negative traits, such as elderly people losing touch with reality, having difficulties with technology, poor social interaction, physical impairements, or old-fashioned clothing. Negative stereotyping reflects an outdated perspective of the ageing process.

The Social Construction of Concealment Among Chinese Women in Abusive Marriages in Hong Kong

Affilia ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelina Yuen-Tsang ◽  
Pauline Sung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Chinese Women ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Forever young? An analysis of the factors influencing perceptions of ageing

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1669-1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Bordone ◽  
Bruno Arpino ◽  
Alessandro Rosina
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Logistic Models ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Social

AbstractDrawing on the revived literature on the subjective dimension of ageing, this paper investigates whether people aged 65+, usually defined as old, do actually feel old and which events they associate with feeling old. Logistic models are used on unique data from the 2013 survey called ‘I Do Not Want to Be Inactive’, conducted on individuals aged 65–74 in Italy (N = 828). It is found that a large proportion of respondents do not feel old at all. The analyses show that women are more likely than men to feel old and to think that society considers them old. While men feel old mainly when they retire, women associate this feeling with loneliness, loss of independence and death of loved ones. Higher-educated people are less likely to associate feeling old with loneliness and boredom than their lower-educated counterparts. The findings have important implications for the conceptualisation of ageing. Most people who are old according to the standard threshold of 65 do not consider reaching this age as a distinctive marker of old age in their lifecourse. This suggests that absolute thresholds for setting the start of old age are questionable. Feeling old seems to be mainly influenced by events, such as retirement and death of loved ones, hinting to the importance of the social construction of ageing in addition to its biological dimension. Researchers and policy makers are encouraged to give more attention to layperson views on ageing.

Legitimation of Illegality in Authoritarian States: The Case of Transnational Illegal Drug Brokerage in China

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Lantian Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Illegal Drug ◽  
Legal Authority ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Media

Abstract This paper analyzes how illegality can be legitimized in authoritarian states by examining a contested case of transnational illegal drug brokerage in China. Triangulating news articles, legal documents, and interviews, the study distinguishes between two pathways of illegality legitimation: depoliticized and politicized. I argue that the depoliticized pathway is made possible through pragmatic, moral, and legalistic frames, whereas the politicized pathway builds upon an institutional frame. I also identify the media as essential agents of illegality legitimation. While illegal-practice participants and the legal authority tend to only mobilize depoliticized frames, the media make both depoliticized and politicized efforts. Through this in-depth analysis, the paper deepens our understanding of the social construction of illegality and the intricate relation between law, media, and society within authoritarian states.

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