There is limited scholarly research that broadly examines the representation of older adults and ageing through an ageism lens in print and online newspapers, including national, state and local publications. Drawing on ageism and stereotype theory, this research examines how older adults and ageing are represented in Australian newspapers. Data were collected over a 16-week period, during which 2,652 statements relating to older adults or ageing were extracted from 804 media publications. A summative content analysis approach was employed, involving the quantification of key concepts followed by an interpretive analysis to identify underlying themes and codes. The findings revealed that approximately 42.0 per cent of statements portrayed older adults and ageing negatively, while only 6.5 per cent were positive. Dominant ageist and stereotypical representations centred on themes of vulnerability, frailty, incapacity and injury or illness. As populations continue to age, it is critical that scholars persist in analysing and challenging dominant media narratives that shape how older people are framed. Furthermore, audience reception studies are needed to examine how such representations are interpreted by the public, thereby deepening understanding of the media’s role in shaping societal perceptions of older adults and ageing.

Many academics have used the concept of intersectional discrimination, based on age, gender and sexual orientation, to describe the challenging situation of older lesbians. In contrast, the present study demonstrates that the invisibility of older lesbians can create opportunities for freely expressing their sexual identity. Relying on semi-structured interviews with 21 Israeli lesbian women aged between 50 and 79 years, the research explores how older lesbians experience this invisibility and what coping strategies they use. Using thematic analysis, a broad theme concerning the subversive meaning of invisibility is identified. This is defined as a situation in which an individual becomes noticeable through unconventional behaviours that are not inherently linked to their social status, leading to confusion and surprise among onlookers. The broader theme is subdivided into two sub-themes: (1) interpersonal invisibility, as a source of personal freedom from societal norms; and (2) intrapersonal visibility, as promoting acceptance in experiencing one’s own sexual identity. The findings are analysed through the lens of three theories: intersectionality, the psychology of invisibility and theories of weak resistance. The interpretation of the participants’ narratives indicates that older lesbians employ rebellious and subversive strategies to cope with the consequences of social invisibility.

Although previous research has demonstrated that social media use (SMU) can influence loneliness, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship among older adults remain insufficiently understood. Specifically, limited research has examined how different purposes of SMU (communication, posting and browsing) may contribute to loneliness through variations in social resources, and for whom these pathways differ as a function of attachment styles. To address these gaps, the present study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine whether perceived social support mediated the relationships between different purposes of SMU and loneliness among older adults, and whether attachment styles moderated the mediation of perceived social support. A total of 538 older adults aged 55 and above participated in this survey. The results revealed that all purposes of SMU (communication, posting and browsing) were significantly and negatively associated with loneliness among older adults. Moreover, perceived social support fully mediated the association between social media communication and loneliness. In addition, attachment anxiety and avoidance moderated this indirect association, such that the protective effect of communication was stronger among older adults with higher attachment anxiety or avoidance, likely due to enhanced perceived social support. These findings emphasize the importance of social media communication in promoting mental wellbeing among older adults and highlight its potential to facilitate their social adaptation in the digital era.

The concept of precarity is increasingly being applied in social gerontology to understand risks and uncertainties faced by older adults. However, existing research has not captured precarity quantitatively nor has it modelled its effect on older adults’ health. We therefore develop a Later Life Precarity Index and model its association with frailty. Using longitudinal data on 15,733 older adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we examine the association between frailty and risks across the domains of finances, pensions, employment, housing, relationship and unpaid care-giving. We then develop the Later Life Precarity Index and model its longitudinal association with a Frailty Index using hybrid panel regression. The results indicate that multiple social risks are strongly and independently associated with frailty, particularly around finances, housing, fuel poverty and food insecurity. In longitudinal models, the precarity index explains both between-individual differences and within-individual changes in frailty and performs substantially better than standard measures of socio-economic status (wealth and education). The strong longitudinal association of the precarity index with frailty suggests that social gerontology’s growing focus on precarity is a useful lens for understanding the diverse, changing and new forms of social risk that impact frailty. By developing, testing and sharing this novel measure of later life precarity, this study brings potential for new understandings of the evolving drivers of inequalities in the health of older adults.

Time perspective can shape how individuals experience life, influencing their wellbeing, perspectives and interactions with societal attitudes. This study explores the interconnections between time perspective, perceived ageism and subjective wellbeing (SWB) across the lifespan. Specifically, it aims to (1) compare time perspective, perceived ageism and SWB among three age cohorts across the lifespan; (2) analyse the influence of time perspective on SWB; and (3) examine whether perceived ageism moderates the relationship between time perspective and SWB. Data were collected from 884 Portuguese participants (aged 18–39, 40–59 and 60+) using various methods and subjected to multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) and moderated regression analyses. Findings suggest distinct differences in time perspective, perceived ageism and SWB between the age cohorts. Future FTP-opportunity decreases with age, while FTP-limitation is higher among older adults. Negative and positive ageism are more prevalent among older adults, with positive ageism increasing with age, and satisfaction with life seems to be higher in middle age. Further, FTP-limitation increases negative affect and reduces positive affect and life satisfaction, while FTP-opportunity boosts both of them. Positive and negative ageism moderate these effects, with positive ageism weakening FTP-opportunity’s benefits and negative ageism intensifying its impact on affect and satisfaction with life. Understanding how perceptions of age and future opportunities shape SWB across life stages is crucial. The findings highlight the impact of ageism on both younger and older adults, emphasizing the need for an inclusive approach to age that promotes wellbeing and opportunities for individuals across the lifecycle.

Rapid population ageing and the digitalization of daily life have created a dual challenge: ensuring cognitive health while preventing digital exclusion among older adults. While the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis suggests that environmental stimulation protects against cognitive decline, international evidence regarding the causal impact of internet use on cognition remains mixed, particularly in developing contexts where digital adoption is uneven. This study addresses this gap by investigating the causal impact of internet use on cognitive abilities among middle-aged and older adults in China, while also exploring the heterogeneity of effects and potential underlying mechanisms. Utilizing three waves of panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) with 40,438 observations, we employ instrumental variable (IV) estimation to address endogeneity and generalized random forests (GRFs) to estimate heterogeneous treatment effects. The results demonstrate that internet use significantly enhances cognitive abilities, with the IV estimates confirming a strong causal link. Notably, the GRF analysis reveals that these cognitive benefits are larger for rural residents, individuals with lower education levels and those who adopt the internet in middle age. Mechanism analyses indicate that these benefits are primarily driven by increased social interaction and reduced stress levels rather than changes in health behaviours. We conclude that digital inclusion serves as a critical non-medical intervention for healthy ageing, particularly in developing countries where it can help bridge cognitive disparities caused by socio-economic inequalities.

Since the pandemic, older adults have become more willing to adopt video calling to stay connected with loved ones. Prior research indicates that video-mediated communication has the potential to facilitate perceived closeness to interaction partners, but may present difficulties for older adults of advanced ages in terms of usability and accessibility, challenging them to benefit as much from the distance-reducing properties of video calling as younger older adults. However, the video-calling experiences of those aged 75+ and the specific conditions enabling them to overcome medium-related challenges, especially in informal settings, have remained relatively unexplored. This study aimed to gain deeper understanding of the circumstances that shape perceptions of distance and closeness during the video-mediated interactions of this age group. Using grounded theory analysis of 108 interviews, it identified five key properties and three roles ascribed to video-mediated communication, revealing that respondents’ perceptions of distance and proximity were contingent upon their appraisals of video calling’s properties in light of their broader emotional, relational and interactional contexts. The findings confirm video calling’s potential to reduce perceived distance in the informal encounters of individuals aged 75+. Nevertheless, fear of substitution of in-person contacts may overshadow video calling’s positive aspects, undermining any perceived closeness to interaction partners. By unveiling the mechanisms central to empowering or impeding these individuals in navigating medium-related challenges and overcoming perceived distance during video-mediated interactions, this article sheds light on the age-related specificity of their video-calling experiences and offers valuable starting points for developing strategies to help them benefit fully from video-mediated social-interaction opportunities.

Approximately 96 per cent of older adults in Australia live at home and one-third of older people aged 65+ are of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Despite recognising that aged care experiences are shaped by sociocultural and institutional systems, there are no scoping reviews of Australia-based research to advance understanding of how family care is provided and received in CALD families. This scoping review fills the research gap by systematically synthesising research on the experiences of family carers of older migrants in Australia to broaden the literature on how sociocultural context shapes care experiences. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework, we searched data on seven electronic databases to solicit journal articles published from 2014 to 2024. After assessing 5,004 studies meeting the eligibility criteria, 15 articles were included and analysed. Thematic analysis identified four themes: (1) cultural expectations of family care; (2) emotional and instrumental burdens of family care; (3) generational gaps in understanding family care; and (4) barriers to accessing services beyond family care. The findings showed strong cultural expectations of filial support among both older migrants and their family carers across cultural groups. However, balancing filial obligations with job commitments proved challenging, and language and system barriers prevented access to needed external care services. This study recommends policies and practices to integrate community and family care. This can improve carers’ experiences and facilitate the delivery of culturally appropriate care to meet care needs.

There is increasing attention to ‘being present’ and ‘being in the moment’ in the context of living with dementia, challenging narratives of decline. Keady and colleagues have situated this within a ‘continuum of moments’ including ‘creating the moment’, ‘being in the moment’, ‘ending the moment’ and ‘reliving the moment’. They call for further conceptual work on moments and dementia, examining how moments fit together as part of everyday life. At the same time, literature on care aesthetics draws attention to moments of beauty, creativity and multi-sensory engagement as part of care practice. Building on this literature, this article explores daily life as a ‘series of moments’ in an autoethnographic account of caring for my mum who is living with dementia, exploring shifts between moments that are difficult, sad, challenging, beautiful, joyful and/or caring. It offers new insights into challenging moments as well as positive ones and the relation of moments to reciprocal emotion work. The article considers tensions between supporting my mum’s continuity of self and constant adaptation, and challenges involved in creating, being in, ending and reliving moments. The discussion explores implications for care practice, highlighting how a focus on moments can help make sense of experiences of caring, and the need for further support with the emotion work associated with care aesthetics.

Care for older relatives is central in ageing societies, and the timing of caregiving onset significantly shapes caregivers’ health, social and employment trajectories. However, differences in the age at which family caregiving begins and their potential social and intersectional stratification have not been sufficiently explored. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we analysed individuals becoming daily caregivers between Waves 1 and 9 (ages 50–95). We explored intersectional inequalities in the age of caregiving onset, distinguishing intra- (partner, siblings) and intergenerational (parents, in-laws) caregiving. Intra-generational caregiving onset had a maximum 11-year difference between strata, while intergenerational caregiving had a four-year maximum difference. Across both types of care, women with low-skill occupations and high education had an earlier caregiving onset in the lifecourse. This was particularly pronounced for intra-generational care, with unique intersectional differences that could not be explained by single social factors alone. These findings highlight large inequalities in the age of caregiving onset between intersectional strata for both intra- and intergenerational care, demonstrating that becoming a care-giver is a socially stratified lifecourse transition. This contribution identifies who enters caregiving earlier, informing more targeted policy and practitioner support to prevent the accumulation of disadvantage in older ages. Mapping the social heterogeneity and intersectional nature of caregiving onset is critical to further understanding the prerequisites, meaning and consequences for family caregivers across the lifecourse.

Grandparenthood is widely understood as a valued identity in later life, associated with treasured grandparent–grandchild relationships. Although scholars highlight the importance of mutuality and bidirectional flows in these relationships, there is a need for qualitative research exploring grandparents’ experiences of receiving care from their grandchildren. Material goods and services are often bound up with practices of intergenerational care, although this has rarely been the focus of research on grandparent–grandchild relationships. Informed by theories of care and consumption practices, and in-depth interviews, this article addresses two questions: how did grandparents experience receiving care from grandchildren during the pandemic, and how were consumption practices bound up with those experiences? Participants described experiencing various kinds of care from grandchildren (toddlers to young adults), suggesting that they experienced grandchildren’s care – and caring consumption practices – as autonomous or embedded within parental caring practices. Both types of care appeared to foster grandparental wellbeing, by highlighting that grandparents matter to younger generations: even small acts of care were experienced in this way. This was a particularly powerful message during the pandemic, when many older people felt physically and emotionally vulnerable and othered by media discourse about their expendability. Beyond offering further insights into the experiences of older people during the pandemic, these findings contribute to understanding of intergenerational care between grandparents and grandchildren. They demonstrate how the complex and multi-directional circulation of care within families is bound up with material practices, and how experiencing even small acts of care from grandchildren can foster grandparents’ wellbeing.

Existing studies on elderly care vulnerability have overlooked how ageing itself shapes such vulnerability, particularly in rural contexts. To address this research gap, this study explores the impact of ageing on rural elderly care vulnerability through vulnerability decomposition, employing the Alkire-Foster method. We draw on data from the 2013, 2018 and 2021 waves of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). The findings reveal a consistent upward trend in elderly care vulnerability among rural older adults between 2013 and 2021, indicating that population ageing exerts a detrimental effect on the overall elderly care vulnerability of rural seniors. Significant group disparities are observed: the advanced-age group exhibits substantially higher vulnerability than their younger elderly counterparts. Further analysis of the drivers behind this increased vulnerability shows that from 2013 to 2018, the number of children and property holdings were the primary influencing factors. In contrast, from 2018 to 2021, heightened deprivation in social interaction and insufficient participation in insurance schemes emerged as key contributors. Additionally, participation in political, economic and religious activities was found to alleviate elderly care vulnerability – with these mitigating effects being more pronounced among men, economically disadvantaged individuals and those with lower educational attainment.

Against the calls for the development of ‘a more than human’ gerontology, this article challenges the assumptions behind this move by positing that its dependence on post-humanist epistemologies and ontologies risks making age a matter more of the imagination than of human mattering, of assemblage more than of meaning. The ‘decentring’ involved in such approaches of what is distinctly human about ageing has led to an imaginary ontology of flattened ‘assemblages’ of age. While these post-humanist developments might seem to offer an imaginative leap into a ‘more than human’ world, the radicalism implied can equally be understood as being largely rhetorical, designed to impress rather than inform our thinking. If the distinctly human experience of age and finitude is absented from our thinking, the mattering of ageing risks being reduced to no more than the universal flux of an impersonal vitalism. We would conclude that it is still critically important for gerontology to maintain its privileging of the human and more generally of humanism in thinking about and researching the tasks it sets itself.