THE INFLUENCE OF MODERN MEDIA TRENDS ON THE RISE OF GERONTOPHOBIA AND GERASCOPHOBIA
THE INFLUENCE OF MODERN MEDIA TRENDS ON THE RISE OF GERONTOPHOBIA AND GERASCOPHOBIA

Author(s): Nefreteta Zekić Eberhard
Subject(s): Media studies, Demography and human biology, Gerontology, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Ekonomski fakultet u Osijeku
Keywords: ageism; gerontophobia; gerascophobia; media; social networks;
Summary/Abstract: The new media age and contemporary media platforms have raised the valorization of youth and the term “anti-age” to a new level. It is suspected that external factors such as the images shown in the media, the possibility of photo editing, and the unrealistic presentation of one’s appearance on social platforms are responsible for the increasing presence of anxiety disorders related to the fear of aging. This type of anxiety disorder is often referred to in academic literature as gerontophobia, gerascophobia, and midorexia. This research examines the contribution of the media and social networks to aging anxiety in women aged 30 to 50 years. The paper also explores the influence of the media and social networks on hostility toward the elderly, or gerontophobia. Fear of aging, gerascophobia, and midorexia as pressures to maintain a constant appearance of physical youth, regardless of age, were also examined. For this work, a pilot study was conducted with two focus groups. This pilot study is the basis for a survey to be conducted as part of future research that would explain the relationship between cultural and aesthetic standards set by modern media and the increase in anti-aging pressures on women.

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