Media can help in the fight against age discrimination

Forgetful. Slow. Inactive. Inflexible. Technophobic. Prone to illness. Unable to learn new things. Bad drivers. Vulnerable. Grumpy. Isolated. Lonely.

If I were to ask you which group of people these terms are often used to describe, I’m sure it would not take you long to arrive at ‘older’ people.

Yet, think of the ‘older’ people you know, and you will most likely come to realize that most, if not all of these terms, don’t apply to them.

Then ask yourself what ‘older’ actually means, and, depending on your age, you will probably realize that it is a matter of perspective – that the idea of ‘older’ differs depending on your own age.

What does this tell you about these terms that are so often used to describe ‘older’ people? It tells you that they are stereotypes.

Then ask yourself - if these stereotypes are counter to your own experience, how are they being reinforced to you?

Think about it. It is most likely through the depictions you are exposed to in the media – advertising, TV shows and movies, current affairs programs, radio talk-back, newspapers and magazines.

Stereotypes are sweeping generalizations applied to an entire group of people – and in this case they are most definitely destructive.

I can say all this with authority because the Australian Human Rights Commission has just released findings from specially commissioned research that backs this up. Urbis Australia surveyed 2,020 male and female community respondents aged between 18 and 80 Australia-wide, conducted five focus groups over four age-group ranges and undertook comprehensive media, advertising and social media scans.

It found that our perceptions of the terms ‘old’ and ‘elderly’ move to older age-groups the older we get – that the younger people are, the younger they perceive the age threshold of ‘old’ and ‘elderly’ to be.

It found that the concept of ‘ageing’ carries predominantly negative connotations and that many Australians believe in a number of stereotypes about older people. People aged 18-24 are mostly likely to see them as ‘sick’, ‘having difficulty learning complex tasks or new things’ and ‘not caring about their appearance’.

Perhaps, most surprisingly, it found that an astonishing 61% of Australians feel that the portrayal of older people in the media is ‘unfair’ and 47% feel the same way about the portrayal in advertising. Older people in the media are most often portrayed as frail, weak, victims or in poor health and the most common words used in relation to them in the media are ‘forgetful, ‘slow’, ‘frail’, ‘vulnerable’, ‘burden’, ‘grump’ or ‘sick’.

This research also found that Australians generally felt advertising should start depicting older people as normal people living normal lives, in roles that contribute to Australian society and should reduce the fear associated with the portrayal of older people as victims.

The frightening bottom line is that when I say that all these negative stereotypes are destructive, the research backs me up.

Negative stereotypes about older people lead to negative behaviours. For example, just under half of Australians feel sorry for older people because of perceived complex health problems and over a third feel they have to take extra time to explain complex topics to them.

Most disturbingly, the research found that one in ten business participants have an age above which they will not recruit – and that average age is 50! And half of business decision-makers see older workers as being at a higher risk of being made redundant (with this figure increasing to 63% in smaller businesses).

My point is – to steal a quote from one of my esteemed colleagues – you can’t be what you can’t see.

Many older people feel they are nigh on invisible in the mainstream media. Considering over 14% of the population is over 65, people this age and older are featured in less than 5% of advertising content and less than 7% of editorial.

It is clear that our perceptions of older people are influenced by the ever-present media environment in which we live our lives. Given their low representation in it, if those depictions are often negative stereotypes, changing this picture is threatening to look like a losing battle.

Seventy-one percent of people in Australia already think age discrimination is common

We need to ensure that the way we see older people reflects the diverse reality of this large and growing group. As we are continually told, our population is ageing. We are living significantly longer lives, often far, far past 65. So, most of us are likely to find ourselves as part of this cohort one day. If we don’t start to shift our attitudes and behaviours towards older people now, they will become so entrenched that it will be almost impossible to reverse.

There is very real –and somewhat urgent - social and economic sense to this.

Our popular culture and news reporting are not doing the image of ‘older’ people many favours. It seems to me, they have a new, vital and influential role to play.

Susan Ryan is Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner. Today, she released the Australian Human Rights Commission’s research report, ‘Fact or Fiction: Stereotypes of older Australians’.