Treasure and thief: Metaphorical representations of older adults on Zhihu

As China grapples with an aging population and societal transformations, understanding the representation of older adults on social media becomes increasingly important. This study explores metaphorical representations of older adults on Zhihu, China's leading question-and-answer platform. Analyzing 6288 posts, we identified metaphors on older adults and categorized them into five major themes and 15 sub-themes using a standard metaphor identification approach. These metaphors alternately portray older adults as burdens and manipulative figures or as sources of wisdom and vital family members. This duality in representation reflects the impact of evolving sociocultural values and shifting intergenerational dynamics in contemporary China. The findings reveal a nuanced balance between reverence and critical perspectives toward older adults, enhancing our understanding of digital discourse on aging and providing insights for future research on intergenerational relations and eldercare policy-making.