In India, where traditional narratives of aging emphasize withdrawal from public life and reliance on familial care, the emergence of elderly individuals on digital platforms presents a striking cultural shift. This paper explores how older adults in India are increasingly engaging with social media platform Instagram to negotiate visibility, identity, and intergenerational relationships. Through qualitative analysis and case-based observations of elderly social media users, the study demonstrates how these platforms are employed to share knowledge, sustain cultural practices, seek companionship, and build communities beyond geographic limitations. While digital participation empowers elderly individuals to challenge ageist stereotypes and assert new roles as storytellers, influencers, and mentors, it simultaneously exposes them to risks of online exclusion, misinformation, and generational divides in media literacy. By situating the Indian elderly within broader debates on digital inclusion and cultural change, the paper argues that social media is reshaping both the lived experiences of aging and the societal perceptions of later life. The findings contribute to scholarship on media and aging in the Global South, highlighting how Indian elderly users of social media navigate the tensions between empowerment and vulnerability in an increasingly digitized society.
Lakshmi Thangavelu (Wed,) studied this question.