A new study from the University of Eastern Finland reveals how media portrayals reinforce the notion that older adults are dependent and burdensome, rather than autonomous and engaged members of society.
The researchers analyzed 95 images published in major Finnish newspapers in 2022 and 2023. Of those, 44 portrayed older individuals as “vulnerable… objects of care,” while only 12 depicted them as “vital and content.” According to the study, these depictions do more than reflect public perceptions; they help shape them.
The team began by gathering every article related to older adults and home care published during the two-year period. Images were categorized into three groups: those featuring only older adults, those featuring only care workers, and those including both. Each image was examined for content and composition, including body language, positioning, gestures, facial expressions, and the surrounding environment.
Beyond content analysis, the researchers conducted a compositional analysis, a more in-depth examination of how visual elements convey meaning. They evaluated framing, color, angles, and proximity. For instance, bright colors were understood to signal happiness, dark colors sadness, close-ups intimac,y and long shots emotional distance.
These techniques, the team argued, demonstrate how visual information taps into culturally shared meanings. Through tools such as Social Representations Theory, they explored how repeated imagery not only mirrors societal beliefs but also reinforces them by converting abstract ideas into familiar visuals.
Most of the photographs examined showed older adults in a passive state, seated, isolated, or positioned lower in the frame than care workers. One example from Finnish newspaper Savon Sanomat illustrated a recurring theme: the care worker is placed prominently in the foreground, while the older individual appears secondary, visually reinforcing a hierarchical and dependent relationship.
In many images, the color palette assigned to the older adult was subdued or grey, while the care worker’s surroundings were more vibrant. This contrast subtly suggests vitality and engagement on the part of the caregiver, and inactivity or detachment for the older person.
Visual cues such as disposable gloves worn by caregivers, emphasis on frail or wrinkled skin, and the physical positioning of older adults in the room further reinforced their portrayal as passive recipients of care. There was little in the way of diversity — few depictions of older individuals living ordinary, engaged lives, let alone those in positions of control or agency.
The researchers described the overall media framing as “dichotomous,” showing either misery or vitality, with no room for nuance. This binary depiction reduces the aging experience to extremes, either total dependence or idealized independence, ignoring the complexity of real life.
The broader impact
According to the study, such portrayals not only influence how society sees aging but can also affect how older people view themselves. These narratives may lead individuals to internalize harmful images, ultimately undermining their sense of self and agency.
The implications extend beyond the pages of a newspaper. The researchers emphasized that media imagery plays a role in shaping public discourse. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum, but reflects and feeds into the social and cultural resources available to a community. Over time, these visual patterns become normalized, forming the backdrop against which assumptions about aging are made.
As the researchers concluded, “media images not only reflect reality but serve as a means of reconstructing it.” If left unchallenged, these depictions could continue to limit both public perception and personal potential in later life.