The elderly and the media

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The elderly and the media
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The elderly as a group

• Treated as a minority in US, western world
• Only minority that the majority are likely to
  become members of
• Media have been said to ignore seniors, treat
  them with disdain

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Longevity Revolution

• Increasing life expectancy
• Decreasing birth rate
• Baby boomer generation
• Countervailing force immigration
• Overall Aging of the population
• Significant social and economic change as a
  result

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Myths of Aging Spurious Correlations

• The topic of aging is durably encapsulated in a
  layer of myths in our society. And, like most
  myths, the ones about aging include a confusing
  blend of truth and fancy. We have compressed a
  few of the most familiar of the aging myths into
  single sentence assertions frequently heard,
  usually with some link to reality, but always
  (thankfully) in significant conflict with recent
  scientific data.

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• Myth 1 You get old you get sick
• Myth 2 You get old you lose interest in
  intimacy
• Myth 3 You get old you are unwilling to try
  anything new
• Myth 4 You get old you lose control of bodily
  functions
• Myth 5 You get old you cant function in the
  work place
• Myth 6 You get old you cant understand
  technology

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• Myth 7 You get old you have no social life
• Myth 8 You get old you cannot fully
  participate or pull you own weight
• Myth 9 You get old you need help to make
  decisions

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Population

• Fifty-plus adults now comprise 38 percent of the
  U.S. population and this number jumps to 47
  percent by 2020. (Census Bureau)
• Fifty-plus adults account for approximately 80
  percent of personal wealth in U.S. banks and
  financial institutions, and have 50 percent of
  all discretionary income. (Age Wave Report, 2001)
• Approximately 6,000 Americans each day celebrate
  their 65th birthday. (Selling to Seniors, 2001)
• A person who turned 65 in 1998 can expect to live
  an additional 17.8 years. (Research Alert, 2001)

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• An analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Labor says 17.5
  percent of men 65-plus were still in the
  workforce in 2000 (up from 16.4 percent in 1990),
  as were 9.4 percent of women 65 plus (up from 8.7
  percent in 1990).
• Median household net worth in 1999, according to
  age of household head 55-64, 145,000 65-74,
  190,000 75 plus, 132,900. (Administration on
  Aging, 2001)
• Fifty-plus adults own almost 50 percent of the
  credit cards in the U.S. (Age Wave Report, 2001)

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• Distribution of sources of income for Americans
  65-plus based on a study in 2000 by the Employee
  Benefit Research Institute Social Security, 41
  percent earnings from work, 20 percent asset
  income, 18 percent pensions and annuities, 19
  percent other, 2 percent.
• Percentage who owned their own homes in 1999
  50-54, 77.8 percent 55-59, 80.7 percent
• 60-64, 81.3 percent.

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Spending

• Fifty-plus adults buy 41 percent of all new cars,
  and 48 percent of all luxury automobiles.
  Consumers in the 60-69 age bracket have more than
  doubled their new-vehicle purchases since the
  early 1970s. (Age Wave Report, 2001)
• Todays 50-plus adults represent 80 percent of
  all luxury travel, and spend 74 percent more on a
  typical vacation than 18-49-year-olds. According
  to an Age Wave report in 2001, they spend 40
  percent more time vacationing in their 50s than
  they did in their 40s.

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Portrayal of the elderly on television

• Elderly are greatly underrepresented on
  television
• Often shown as feeble, in need of care by younger
  people
• Situation has improved somewhat, though
• Early 1990s saw increase in programming targeting
  elderly
• Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Golden Girls, Jake and
  the Fat Man, In the Heat of the Night
• Seems to have declined as older-skewing shows
  have been canceled with equivalent or larger
  audiences compared to younger-skewing shows

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Portrayal of the elderly on television

• Elderly women treated more negatively than men
• Older men paired with younger women is considered
  more acceptable than older women paired with
  younger men

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Economic imperative

• Advertisers are most interested in younger
  audiences
• Less income per show when audience is dominated
  by elderly/aged
• TV shows that draw from older audience dropped
  even if their numbers are better than
  younger-skewing shows
• New networks have successively gone for younger
  audiences

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Trends in the Portrayal of the Elderly

• Greenberg, Bradley S., Korzenny, Felipe, and
  Atkin, Charles K. (1980) Ch. 3 in Life on
  Television

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Three season distribution of character ages
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Program time by Age of TV character for two
seasons
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Major program types by age of TV characters
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Selected attributes of characters by age
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Prosocial behavior
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Target of prosocial behavior
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Antisocial behavior
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Target of antisocial behavior
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Summary

• The portrayal of the elderly as fictional
  television characters, during the 1975-76 and
  1976-77 seasons, had these primary attributes
• . . . A very small number of characters in the
  65-and-over group, averaging about 3 percent of
  all characters, with no trend of increase
• . . . An increasing distribution of older
  characters into Saturday morning and late evening
  programs
• . . . A disproportionately high placement of
  older characters in situation comedies
• . . . A distinctly male bias in portrayal of the
  elderly

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• . . . Increased casting into regular, rather than
  guest roles
• . . . Increasing representation of the elderly in
  lower-class portrayals
• . . . The giving and getting of acts of altruism
  and affection at rates equivalent to other age
  groups
• . . . The commission of acts of physical
  aggression at lower rates, while equally likely
  to be the targets of such acts,
• . . . The commission of acts of verbal aggression
  at higher rates than other age groups.

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The invisible generation Portrayals of the
elderly on prime-time television

• Robinson, James D. and Skill, Thomas,
  Communication Reports, 8(2) 111-120, Summer 1995.
• Content analysis of primetime, 1990 season.

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Age distribution of speaking characters by
gender, 1990 primetime television season ()
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Comparison of character age among males, 1975 and
1990 primetime television seasons ()
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Age distribution of female characters, primetime
TV 1975 and 1990 ()
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Major v. minor roles by character age, primetime
TV, 1990
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Age distribution in primetime, 1994-1997
(Gerbner, 1998)
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Age distribution in daytime, 1994-1997 (Gerbner,
1998)
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Age by gender, primetime characters 1994-97
(Gerbner, 1998)
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Age by gender, daytime characters 1994-97
(Gerbner, 1998)
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Even so, elderly are heavy media users

• Heavy users of nearly all media
• Heaviest users of television of any group
• Heaviest readers of newspapers
• Loyal magazine readers
• Main exception is out-of-home media
• Movies

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Portrayal of elderly in advertising

• Elderly not considered as important in terms of
  consumption as young are
• Radio stations, ad agencies and even advertisers
  were amazingly indifferent, if not outrightly
  negative on the subject of aging.
• (Starr, 2000)
• underlying assumption that older people are not
  real consumers except for health care and
  financial products

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• Perfect grandparent
• Golden ager
• John Wayne conservative
• Liberal matriarch/patriarch
• Activist
• Smalltown neighbour.
• The negative stereotypes were the
• Despondent
• Vulnerable
• Severely impaired
• Shrew/curmudgeon
• Recluse
• Mildly impaired
• Selfcentred
• Elitist

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• The Representation of Elderly Persons in Prime
  Time Television Advertising Masters Thesis
  -Meredith Tupper-November 1995

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Findings
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• Gender Of the 68 elderly characters, 39 were
  male and 29 were female.  In contrast, females
  aged 65-74 outnumbered males in the same age
  group four to three in the 1990 U. S. Census
  (U.S. Bureau of Census, 1990).

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• Role prominence A total of 135 elderly
  characters were coded. Of these, 49 (36 of
  total) appeared in major roles 42 (31 of total)
  appeared in minor or 'single dialog line' roles,
  and 44 (33) appeared in background or
  non-speaking roles.

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• Table 2 Spots coded by locale Home
  setting            15 Spots           36
  Recreational/social    6 spots           14
  Prof/corp/retail         17 spots           40
  Health care setting    2 spots              5
  Other/indeterminate  2 spots              5

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• Ethnic elderly Of the 68 elderly characters, one
  was coded as African-American, one was coded as
  being of Hispanic origin, and two fell into the
  other visible minority category.

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Findings

• 1. What is the percentage of elderly people in
  prime time television commercials compared to the
  percentage of elderly in the U.S. population?
• According to the 1990 U. S. Census, 12.6 of the
  U.S. population was aged 65 years or older.   In
  the television commercial population examined, 
  8.14 of the characters met the definition of
  elderly.

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• 2. What is the ratio of elderly females to
  elderly males in prime time television
  commercials as compared to previously cited
  ratios of elderly females to elderly males in the
  U.S. population?
• According to the 1990 U.S. Census, for ages 65
  and up, the ratio of males to females is 67.3
  males for every 100 females, and for ages 85 and
  up, the ratio dwindles to 46 males for every 100
  females. In the study population, the ratio of
  elderly males to females was 133100.

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• 3. What is the percentage of elderly
  African-Americans presented in prime time
  television commercials?
• 1.5 of the elderly were African-American.

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• 4. What is the percentage of elderly Hispanics
  presented in prime time television commercials?
• 1.5 of the elderly were Hispanic.

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• 5. What is the percentage of visible non-Anglo
  minorities (such as Asians, American Indians, or
  Middle Easterners) presented in prime time
  television commercials?
• Other visible minorities constituted 3 of the
  total elderly character population. 

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• 6. Do any negative, unflattering or stereotypical
  images of elderly people appear in prime time
  television commercials?
• No clear cut, definitive negative stereotypes of
  elderly people emerged from this study in fact,
  elderly characters did not appear in the
  anticipated commercial categories.  For example,
  elderly characters did not appear in roles for
  products such as arthritis medication, denture
  care products, or skin wrinkle creams, nor did
  they appear in sick, weak, fragile, or
  absent-minded roles.

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Marketing to seniors

• www.jwtmmg.com

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Drugs and Health Care

• Of the 50 drugs used most frequently by seniors,
  the average annual cost per prescription as of
  early 2001 was 956. (AARP) The average number
  of prescriptions per older American increased
  from 19.6 in 1992 to 28.5 in 2000. (Families USA,
  2000)
• Consumers 50-plus purchase 77 percent of all
  prescription drugs and 61 percent of over-the
  counter drugs. (Advertising Age, 2000)
• Seniors spend anywhere from 12 percent to 19
  percent of their income on out-of-pocket health
  expenses. (AARP, 2001)

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Technology

• Half of 50-plus consumers have personal computers
  at home, and 70 percent of this group has
  Internet access. (Advertising Age, 2000)
• Ninety-two percent of those computer owners age
  55-plus have shopped online, and 78 percent have
  made purchases. (Age Light Institute, 2000)
• Most popular on-line activities for senior
  Internet users according to a Pew Research Center
  study in 2000 e-mail, 93 percent search for
  health info, 53 percent get financial
  information, 44 percent read political news, 36
  percent play a game, 32 percent buy/sell
  stocks, 12 percent.

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Portrayal of disabilities, primetime 1994-97
(Gerbner)
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Portrayal of disabilities, daytime 1994-97
(Gerbner)
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