Older Adults’ Everyday Perceptions of Ageism: The Role of Television and Social Media

While ageism experiences are associated with reduced well-being among older adults, the contexts in which they encounter ageism remain underexamined. This study investigated everyday contexts of perceived ageism among older adults in Canada, with a particular focus on TV and social media usage. We analyzed up to 14 days of evening diaries from 111 individuals aged 50 and above living in Canada (Age: M = 71.27 years, SD = 9.02; 75% female). Participants reported their daily TV viewing, social media screen time, purposes of social media usage and perceived ageism each evening. Multilevel models were employed to account for the nested data structure. As hypothesized, older adults reported higher levels of perceived ageism on days when they watched more TV than usual. In addition, those who spent more time on social media on average reported more perceived ageism. Moreover, using social media to connect with new people was linked to higher levels of perceived ageism at the between-person level, whereas using it to post content or to pass time was associated with lower perceived ageism at the within-person level. Findings suggest that TV and social media can be key contexts in which older adults perceive everyday ageism.