"Go home, old man!" Ageism in the covid-19 pandemic: netnography on the Youtube™ platform

Barbosa, Isis Bastos; Araújo, Pricila Oliveira de; Muniz, Vinícius de Oliveira; Soares, Isabela Machado Sampaio Costa; Sousa, Anderson Reis de; Carvalho, Evanilda Souza de Santana

doi:10.1590/1981-22562023026.230049.en

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Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia

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Original Articles • Rev. bras. geriatr. gerontol. 26 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-22562023026.230049.en copy

"Go home, old man!" Ageism in the covid-19 pandemic: netnography on the Youtube™ platform

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Objective

To analyze the repercussions of ageism directed at older people during covid-19, through the content available on the Youtube™ platform.

Method

Netnographic, exploratory and qualitative study, whose data were collected in videos on the Youtube™ platform; a thematic analysis of Bardin's content was performed and the elements were discussed in the light of the Theory of Stigma.

Results

Three categories explain the repercussions of the investigated phenomenon: expressions of ageism pre-existing to the pandemic, with expressions of exclusion, disregard and disrespect; expressions of ageism during the pandemic from the risk group label that strengthens stereotypes of sick and incapable people; and feelings and attitudes of the older people towards the repercussions of ageism, which led to repercussions on social interactions, lifestyle and health of older people.

Conclusions

The repercussions can cause physical, cognitive, social and psychic sequelae, and the fight against its impacts starts from the educational sphere towards a social pact that allows a respectful and empathetic coexistence between generations.

Keywords
Ageism; Older people; Pandemics; covid-19; Internet use

Nº	Títle	URL	Channel	Posting date	Video duration
1	Ágora Abrasco: Painel: Idadismo e a pandemia de coronavírus - só o fez aumentar!	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urLIoxk43lA&t=2841s	TV ABRASCO	August 17, 2020	1h 42min 06seg
2	Casos de violência contra Idosos dispararam no Brasil durante a pandemia	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEnrKu-ww_Y&t=1s	Acta Oficial	July 14, 2020	5min 56seg
3	Coronavírus e o preconceito contra idosos no brasil	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1p_heSuwlg	UOL	May 21st, 2020	3min 32seg
4	Depoimento - Ageísmo	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FzBxZlfC9w&t=16s	Programa USP 60 mais	April 06, 2020	2min 53seg
5	Discriminación que sufren los adultos mayores, incrementado en ésta pandemia del Coronavirus	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLCuBWFqZXw&t=1s	ASV	July 1st, 2020	2min 56seg
6	Margaret Morganroth Gullette, Instead...How Ageism Worsened in the Pandemic	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49b656cchEA	Lise Gottell	October 16, 2020	1h 28min 28seg
7	Pandemia de covid-19 e a evidência da "velhofobia"	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMqSvKystI8&t=65s	Rádio UERJ	September 29, 2020	10min 15seg
8	Pandemia fez aumentar violência sobre idosos	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRSOhi6j3WE	Euronews	February 23, 2021	2min 45seg
9	Preconceito na pandemia: idosos sofrem com piadas nas ruas	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdzHlPJogNs	TV Portal Terceira Idade	April 21st, 2020	4min 13seg

GENERAL EXCLUSION
“[...]to get old, to survive, it's a struggle between life and death.” (V1_LV)
“[...]I thought it was important to emphasize the issue of inclusion, it is impossible to be including and feel included if you lead a life of exclusion, having to endure prejudices”. (V1_AK)
“[...]Question: Have you ever suffered any kind of ageism? Answer: I go through this practically every day”. (V4_MJ)
EXCLUSION IN LEARNING SPACES/DIGITAL EXCLUSION
“[...]and I include myself, as an older person, knowing that I can collaborate in some way in the transmission, in the use of these digital means, now that I am somehow in the process. I am included as an older person in this community that uses digital media to act against the prejudice that excludes me. It seems to be intentional, taking us back to the holds of the ship, especially when you're black. So you have to face these teachings”. (V1_LV)
“ [...]I looked on the internet for a course that I was interested in, but when I accessed the site I saw that it was only for people aged 18 to 35. I was at a loss to understand why, as I am a technologically active person. Why discriminate against age? Maybe I learn slower, in the face of artificial intelligence, but that doesn't mean I can't learn”. (V4_MJ)
DISREGARDING THE VARIOUS WAYS OF BEING AN OLDER PERSON
“[...]most people set standards and don't give older people a chance. There are people aged 65 who have more difficulty with mobility, but not all 65-year-olds will be the same, they vary according to experience and cannot be leveled. It's rude situations that have been happening”. (V4_MJ)
“[...]in addition to the various forms of reproducing prejudices, I experience aesthetic behavioral pressure. When a person turns 60, it's as if they were given a list of behaviors and those who don't follow them receive a series of judgments . It is as if certain practices, such as sex for example, become inappropriate just because the person has aged.”. (V7_D)
DISRESPECT OF THE RIGHT OF OLDER PEOPLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
“[...]when I get on public transport, people discriminate against me, they don't give me a seat”. (V4_MJ)
LABEL OF SICK, WEAK, BURDEN AND UNPRODUCTIVE
“[...]ageism has developed very quickly and is built on existing hostilities, but the new ageism of the covid-19 era, surprisingly, has increased these hostilities, especially in the US, in the face of the belief that we are old, sick, susceptible to die and we live too long, whose treatment with health would be useless and expensive , acting with indifference to our well-being. The problem has become common in Reddit posts and non-serious tweets, but also in articles published in respected magazines.”. (V6_MM - translated)
“ [...]although they seem harmless, many comments have a strong negative, unproductive and unnecessary charge towards the older person ”. (V7_D)
MISTREATMENT AND VIOLENCE
“[...]I was hungry, I had nothing to eat, I was treated badly by my family, because I was old”. (V2_SJ)

STEREOTYPE OF SICK, BURDEN AND DISPOSABLE
“ [...]ageism is lethal, it meant wishing us dead, naturalizing older people to die naturally in an epidemic”. (V6_MM - translated)
“[...]authority figures in some popular discourses have found our supposed weakness to be a useful mortal destiny. A Vice Governor in Texas said on FOX NEWS that we should be willing to risk our survival for the sake of the economy, that we older people wouldn't matter in a revived economy. A Fascist version of fantasy coming from your own governor”. (V6_MM - translated)
“[...]I was taking a document to the city hall when a car passed by and shouted at me 'go home, "you old man"' that 's not what he said, but I'll say that was it. Older people, when they need to go to the street, eventually buy a medicine, or in a supermarket , they cannot be questioned and be embarrassed that way”. (V9_P)
OLDER PEOPLE AS A RISK SUBJECT
“[...]it's pretty sad. At the beginning of the pandemic, I observed the spread of several prejudiced discourses: 'This disease only affects old people'. Inappropriate speeches by our president of Brazil: 'Put grandpa and grandma in the corner', when suggesting isolation only for older people. These inappropriate speeches negatively impacted health, bringing psychological distress”. (V7_D)
DISRESPECT OF THE RIGHT OF PRIORITY IN VACCINATION
“[...]when imagining that older people could be given priority to get the vaccine, I feared that the population could complain and make negative statements, with jokes”. (V1_AL)

FEELINGS
“[...]the biggest offense I've ever experienced is when they say to me: 'Wow, but you have a 30-year-old spirit'”. (V3_DV)
“[...]I feel upset at being treated like someone who has problems and difficulties”. (V4_MJ)
“[...]I have friends who have experienced issues such as threats of sexism, racism, classicism and ageism ”. (V6_MM - Translated)
“[...]An example of ageism is when we are treated in a childish way”. (V7_D)
“[...]there are thousands of older people who are in the same situation as me, isolated, living alone, it's terrible”. (V8_WI - Without identification)
ATTITUDES
“[...]we seniors are disciplined, we take care of ourselves, we find different ways of living, we make handicrafts or masks, we cook, we practice gardening, we read and we connect with our emotions, to face discrimination”. (V5_MT - Translated)

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[1] Correspondence Isis Bastos Barbosa isisb.barbosa@hotmail.com