From Anti-Aging to Anti-Ageist: Changing Attitudes through Social Media

Abstract

Age discrimination and ageism negatively affects each of us across our lifespans. Age stereotyping undermines employment, suppresses the promise of living a long healthy life, and corrodes social relationships within and across generations. Ageism costs the United States $850 billion in GDP each year and is linked to $63 billion in health care costs. Ageist stereotypes can be changed with intentional contact between older and younger individuals, social policies and laws, and social media. In this research brief, we explore how to leverage social media to challenge widely held attitudes on aging and between generations.