Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
J Aging Stud. 2022 Jun;61:101024. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2022.101024. Epub 2022 Mar 21.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, a parallel pandemic of ageism is spreading through social media. This paper argues that COVID-19 health securitisation logic and the urgent need to disseminate public health information have allowed nuanced forms of ageism to be reproduced in online forums. I use a critical discourse analysis and social semiotic analysis to deconstruct the use of ageist representations of older adults in COVID-19 memes, which have been organised into four illustrative categories. The analysis attends to ageist representations that both reinforce stereotypical messages and exacerbate intergenerational tensions. Drawing upon moral anthropology, I propose that the memes employ "instrumental ageism," a nuanced form of ageism that advances the health securitisation agenda during the pandemic. The paper concludes with a recognition of the impact of ageist pandemic memes on intergenerational tensions and a call for attention to nuanced forms of ageism in our online and offline social worlds.
随着 COVID-19 大流行的持续，一种针对老年人的偏见大流行也通过社交媒体蔓延开来。本文认为，COVID-19 的健康安全化逻辑和传播公共卫生信息的迫切需要，使得在在线论坛中复制了细微形式的年龄歧视。我使用批评性话语分析和社会符号学分析来解构 COVID-19 模因中对老年人的年龄歧视表现，这些模因已被组织成四个说明性类别。该分析关注的是那些既强化刻板印象信息又加剧代际紧张关系的年龄歧视表现。借鉴道德人类学，我提出这些模因采用了“工具性年龄歧视”，这是一种微妙的年龄歧视形式，它在大流行期间推进了健康安全化议程。本文最后认识到年龄歧视大流行模因对代际紧张关系的影响，并呼吁关注我们在线上和线下社会世界中微妙的年龄歧视形式。
