Resumen

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has played an essential informational role; unfortunately, ageism has been prevalent across social networks. The objective of this study was to characterize Twitter content related to COVID-19 and older adults in the Spanish language, and to study the presence of ageist messages. Methods: A total of 3005 original tweets were collected, from which a representative sample of 263 tweets was selected and analyzed to identify potentially ageist content. Results: Less than one-sixth of the tweets could be considered ageist. Nineteen tweets (7.2%) were considered potentially offensive toward older adults, and 12 (4.6%) downplayed the importance of COVID-19 because it affected older adults more severely. Most tweets related to COVID-19 and older adults in Spanish were authored by organizations. Key Points: (1) Ageist social media content during the COVID-19 pandemic varies globally; (2) Seven percent of tweets about older adults and COVID-19 in Spanish were ageist; (3) Strategies need to be designed to minimize ageist messaging in social media. Conclusions: There is a need to implement interventions aimed at tackling ageism in social media.

Palabras clave: Twitter geriatrics ageism COVID-19 older adults

2022-03-02   |   457 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 7 Núm.2. Julio-Diciembre 2021 Pags. 37-41 J Lat Am Geriatric Med 2021; 7(2)