RESEARCHERS analysed almost 700 TikToks uploaded by young people, tagged #Boomer or #OKBoomer, and found that half of the videos had negative stereotypes about older adults.
Videos criticising older adults' values/beliefs, or portraying negative encounters with them, were more likely to feature negative age stereotypes (such as those relating to their appearance, competence, or physical functioning).
Such videos often claim older people have old-fashioned views and are holding back progress.
'Boomer-blaming' videos suggest older people have wrecked the economy, environment, or give examples of them behaving badly towards younger people.
On the other hand, videos portraying older adults as "warm" were 43% less likely to contain negative stereotypes.
Dr Reuben Ng, who led the study from the National University of Singapore, said,"portrayals of older adults in the 1900s were very positive, celebrating older adults as heroes and romantics.
"In the last 50 years, the view of ageing has changed dramatically, and ageism is rife on TikTok, with one in two videos created about older adults found to be disparaging."
Authors of the study say these results show the importance of exposing young people to counter-stereotypical depictions of older adults, and fostering intergenerational solidarity.
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