IN3’s Communication Networks & Social Change (CNSC) research group is pleased to invite you to the seminar «Visual ageism in advertising strategies for technology products» given by Loredana Ivan, associate professor at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Romania).
The seminar will be held, virtually and in person, on Tuesday, February 21 at 11:00 h (CET) in Room 201 of the Research Hub (Building C).
Venue
Research Hub (Building C - Room 201)
Rambla del Poblenou, 154
08018 Barcelona
Espanya
When
21/02/2023 11.00h
Organized by
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, IN3's Communication Networks & Social Change (CNSC) research group
Program
Summary
Visual ageism is “the social practice of visually underrepresenting older people or misrepresenting them in a prejudiced way” (Ivan & Loos, 2018, p. 164). Using a systematic literature review on empirical studies conducted during the past 10 years (2011-2021), we explore visual portrayals of older adults in the advertising and marketing strategies for technological products. Visual ageist practices are revealed - underrepresentation, stereotypical representations and peripheral role played by older adults when they are represented in connection with technology. We also reveal how such visual portrayals differ on various technological products. Overall, older adults tend to be less present in the advertisements on technology products, as compare to other domains. When they are visually present in technology related advertisements and marketing strategies, older people are associated with older technology (as for example automotive) and to a lesser extend with the new technologies (digital technologies). Also the findings indicated that we face stronger visual ageism in the case of older women compare to older men. The current presentation opens the discussion on further developments in exploring visual ageism in the case of technology products. The role of some contextual aspects, and the importance of technology in different countries and the technological history, as well as different models of ageing might shape visual representations of older adults in the advertisement content. Equally important is to investigate older persons’ perceptions on the visual content in which technology is represented in association with different age groups.
Loredana Ivan
Associate Professor at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Communication Department, Bucharest, Romania. She has a PhD in Sociology and a post-doctorate in Social Psychology, and she is currently the chair of the European Network of Aging Studies (ENAS). Her areas of interest include: Interpersonal Communication mediated by Technology; Fake News & Generations; Family Communication. She has led some special issues in the area of ageing and communication technology (“Fighting Fake News: A Generational Approach“, Societies, 2021; “Ageing and Interpersonal Communication”, Societies, 2020; “Ageing and Digital Communication”, ESSACHESS - Journal for Communication Studies. She is the author and co-author of several book chapters that draw on ageism and digital communication later in life.