Sources of Media and Public Opinion

The sources of media play one of the key roles in the public opinion formation regarding older people. Eventually, newspapers and television cause a crucial influence on how a phenomenon of older age and older people, in particular, is accepted by the audience. Public portrayals quite often determine what kind of attitude is about to be chosen towards the matter and how the relations between different generations will be arranged.

From what is currently portrayed, there are frequent misunderstandings and conflicts between the two universes: the young and the older. These conflicts happen even within families, and Boodram provides a commentary in the video regarding the issue, where a young man states that older people should stop arguing the youth behavior and “take the training wheels off the bike.” By bringing such a portrayal, this man unwillingly depicts older people as individuals with limited life comprehension, which leads to forming wrong stereotypes.

According to some myths, the process of aging makes people unproductive and totally passive. As a counterargument to that stereotype one may bring a known TV show, featuring an aged woman and a 15-year-old boy. In the show, the audience notices that older people are still capable of remarkable achievements and can even compete with the young. Another widely spread myth states that aging negatively affects productivity. The statement can also be argued since the majority of artists like Anna Mary Robinson Moses usually find their calling in the later years. The claim that seniors cannot adapt to new situations also finds a disproof as they are forced to cope with all the occurring changes related to health conditions.