Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective

Media portrayal of older adults is an expression of social realities and expectations, and the image of ageing has significant implications for intergenerational relations. A life course perspective is suggested for viewing old age as the final stage of successive lifespan development and investigat...

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Main Author: Wenqian Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade do Minho 2019-07-01
Series:Vista
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistavista.pt/index.php/vista/article/view/3017
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author Wenqian Xu
author_facet Wenqian Xu
author_sort Wenqian Xu
collection DOAJ
description Media portrayal of older adults is an expression of social realities and expectations, and the image of ageing has significant implications for intergenerational relations. A life course perspective is suggested for viewing old age as the final stage of successive lifespan development and investigating the social meaning of old age through comparisons of life stages. This article focuses on the visual portrayal of citizens at a particular life stage (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age) in Swedish municipal new media. It aims to examine the ways that the municipality visually portrayed citizens at different life stages, as well as the media portrayal of older people that was produced from a life course perspective. This study is based on document analysis of municipal guidelines for visual language and other pertinent documents, as well as in- depth visual analysis of six representative Facebook photos published by the municipality in 2018. This article finds that the municipality has designated diversity and inclusiveness (including age) as two vital communication goals, in addition to applying a life-stage grouping technique to audience analysis. Visual analysis reveals that the visual portrayal of citizens is communicated using a set of traits attributed to the life stages represented. Specifically, these findings suggest that the particular visual components serve to categorize older people as a vulnerable group, while perpetuating age stereotypes and ageist perceptions in society.
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spelling doaj.art-df169a145fd54661be0580ea937de7332022-12-21T17:16:16ZengUniversidade do MinhoVista2184-12842019-07-01410.21814/vista.3017Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course PerspectiveWenqian Xu0Division Ageing and Social Change (ASC), Linköping University, SwedenMedia portrayal of older adults is an expression of social realities and expectations, and the image of ageing has significant implications for intergenerational relations. A life course perspective is suggested for viewing old age as the final stage of successive lifespan development and investigating the social meaning of old age through comparisons of life stages. This article focuses on the visual portrayal of citizens at a particular life stage (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age) in Swedish municipal new media. It aims to examine the ways that the municipality visually portrayed citizens at different life stages, as well as the media portrayal of older people that was produced from a life course perspective. This study is based on document analysis of municipal guidelines for visual language and other pertinent documents, as well as in- depth visual analysis of six representative Facebook photos published by the municipality in 2018. This article finds that the municipality has designated diversity and inclusiveness (including age) as two vital communication goals, in addition to applying a life-stage grouping technique to audience analysis. Visual analysis reveals that the visual portrayal of citizens is communicated using a set of traits attributed to the life stages represented. Specifically, these findings suggest that the particular visual components serve to categorize older people as a vulnerable group, while perpetuating age stereotypes and ageist perceptions in society.https://revistavista.pt/index.php/vista/article/view/3017life courselife stagemedia portrayalolder peoplevisual analysis
spellingShingle Wenqian Xu
Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective
Vista
life course
life stage
media portrayal
older people
visual analysis
title Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective
title_full Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective
title_fullStr Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective
title_short Portrayal of Life Stages on Swedish Municipal Media: A Life Course Perspective
title_sort portrayal of life stages on swedish municipal media a life course perspective
topic life course
life stage
media portrayal
older people
visual analysis
url https://revistavista.pt/index.php/vista/article/view/3017
work_keys_str_mv AT wenqianxu portrayaloflifestagesonswedishmunicipalmediaalifecourseperspective