Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T05:13:06.191Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Behind the Digi-God's back’: social representations of older people's digital competences and internet use in regional Finnish newspapers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2020

Päivi Rasi Open the ORCID record for Päivi Rasi [Opens in a new window]
Päivi Rasi*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Media Education Hub, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article discusses how three Finnish regional newspapers represented older people's digital competences and internet use in their daily coverage. The study explored media representations from the perspective of social representations and sought to answer the following questions: In what kind of internet user roles do the articles portray older people? How and with what kind of images do the articles portray older people's digital competences in various internet user roles? How are older people positioned at a societal level in the articles? The analysis revealed that older people were portrayed as incompetent outcasts of a digitalised society. However, there was a clear difference according to whether older people were portrayed as recipients of public services or as consumers of private services. As targets of public services, older people were predominantly portrayed as happy targets, who welcomed the services provided for them. This result can be interpreted as part of the promotion of government digitalisation policies.

Keywords

digitial competencesinternet usesocial representationsmedia representations
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , April 2022 , pp. 829 - 848
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abad Alcalá, L (2019) Media literacy among the elderly. In Hobbs, R and Mihailidis, P (eds), The International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy, Vol. 2. Singapore: Wiley Blackwell, pp. 763–768.Google Scholar
Anderson, M and Perrin, A (2017) Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults. Available at https://www.pewinternet.org/2017/05/17/tech-adoption-climbs-among-older-adults/.Google Scholar
Arruda, A (2015) Image, social imaginary and social representations. In Sammut, G, Andreouli, E, Gaskell, G and Valsiner, J (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 128–142.10.1017/CBO9781107323650.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bai, X (2014) Images of ageing in society: a literature review. Journal of Population Ageing 7, 231–253.10.1007/s12062-014-9103-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, AE, Raphael, A and Gunderson, J (2014) Reflections of old age, constructions of aging selves: drawing links between media images and views of aging. In Harrington, CL, Bielby, DB and Bardo, AR (eds), Aging, Media, and Culture. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 39–50.Google Scholar
Bauer, MW (2015) On (social) representations and the iconoclastic impetus. In Sammut, G, Andreouli, E, Gaskell, G and Valsiner, J (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 43–63.10.1017/CBO9781107323650.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, MW and Gaskell, G (2008) Social representations theory: a progressive research programme for social psychology. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior 38, 335–353.10.1111/j.1468-5914.2008.00374.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumann, S and de Laat, K (2014) Aspiration and compromise: portrayals of older adults in television advertising. In Harrington, CL, Bielby, DB and Bardo, AR (eds), Aging, Media, and Culture. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 13–24.Google Scholar
Black, J (2016) ‘As British as fish and chips’: British newspaper representations of Mo Farah during the 2012 London Olympic Games. Media, Culture & Society 38, 979–996.10.1177/0163443716635863CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckingham, D (1994) Children Talking Television. London: Falmer Press.Google Scholar
Damodaran, L, Olphert, CW and Sandhu, J (2014) Falling off the bandwagon? Exploring the challenges to sustained digital engagement by older people. Gerontology 60, 163–173.10.1159/000357431CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Digi arkeen -neuvottelukunta (2019) Digitaalinen Suomi – Yhdenvertainen kaikille. Digi arkeen -neuvottelukunnan toimintakertomus [Digital Finland – Equal to All. Report of the Digi arkeen Advisory Board] (Valtiovarainministeriön julkaisuja 2019:23). Available at http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/161486.Google Scholar
Eicher, V and Bangerter, A (2015) Social representations of infectious diseases. In Sammut, G, Andreouli, E, Gaskell, G and Valsiner, J (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 385–396.10.1017/CBO9781107323650.031CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eronen, J, Paakkari, L, Portegijs, E, Saajanaho, M and Rantanen, T (2019) Assessment of health literacy among older Finns. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 31, 549–556.10.1007/s40520-018-1104-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
European Commission (2020 a) Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2020. Digital Public Services. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-public-services-scoreboard.Google Scholar
European Commission (2020 b) Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2020. Use of Internet Services by Citizens. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/use-internet.Google Scholar
Flick, U, Foster, J and Caillaud, S (2015) Researching social representations. In Sammut, G, Andreouli, E, Gaskell, G and Valsiner, J (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 64–80.10.1017/CBO9781107323650.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godoy-Pressland, A (2014) ‘Nothing to report’: a semi-longitudinal investigation of the print media coverage of sportswomen in British Sunday newspapers. Media, Culture & Society 36, 595–609.10.1177/0163443714532977CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guess, A, Nagler, J and Tucker, J (2019) Less than you think: prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook. Science Advances 5, eaau4586.10.1126/sciadv.aau4586CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hakkarainen, P (2012) ‘No good for shovelling snow and carrying firewood’ – social representations of computers and the Internet by elderly Finnish non-users. New Media & Society 14, 1198–1215.10.1177/1461444812442663CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harwood, J (2007) Understanding Communication and Aging: Developing Knowledge and Awareness. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Helsper, EJ and Reisdorf, BC (2016) The emergence of a ‘digital underclass’ in Great Britain and Sweden: changing reasons for digital exclusion. New Media & Society 19, 1253–1270.10.1177/1461444816634676CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobbs, R (2010) Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action (A White Paper on the digital and media literacy recommendations of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy). Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute, Communications and Society Program. Available at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523244.pdf.Google Scholar
Hodgetts, D, Chamberlain, K and Bassett, G (2003) Between television and the audience: negotiating representations of ageing. Health 7, 417–438.10.1177/13634593030074003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Höijer, B (2010) Emotional anchoring and objectification in the media reporting on climate change. Public Understanding of Science 19, 717–731.10.1177/0963662509348863CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jungner, M (2015) Otetaan digiloikka! Suomi digikehityksen kärkeen [Let's Take a Digital Leap! Finland to the Forefront of Digital Development]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto. Available at http://ek.fi/wp-content/uploads/Otetaan_digiloikka_net.pdf.Google Scholar
Kelly, J, Watson, R, Pankratove, M and Pedzeni, A-M (2016) Representation of age and ageing identities in popular music texts. Journal of Advanced Nursing 72, 1325–1334.10.1111/jan.12916CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kontula, O (2013) Seksuaalisuus. In Heikkinen, E, Jyrkämä, J and Rantanen, T (eds), Gerontologia [Gerontology]. Helsinki: Duodecim, pp. 351–363.Google Scholar
Kovács, G, Aczél, P and Bokor, T (2021) The portrayal of elderly men and women in Hungarian television news programmes. Ageing & Society 41, 2099–2117.10.1017/S0144686X20000227CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lage, E (2014) Sosiaalisten representaatioiden perusdynamiikka. In Myyry, L, Ahola, S, Ahokas, M and Sakki, I (eds), Arkiajattelu, tieto ja oikeudenmukaisuus [Lay Thinking, Knowledge and Justice]. Vantaa, Finland: Helsingin yliopisto, sosiaalitieteiden laitos, pp. 53–67.Google Scholar
Livingstone, S, Van Couvering, E and Thumim, N (2005) Adult Media Literacy: A Review of the Research Literature on Behalf of Ofcom. London: Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5283/1/aml.pdf.Google Scholar
Loos, EF (2018) The organizational use of online stockphotos: the impact of representing senior citizens as eternally youthful. Human Technology 14, 366–381.10.17011/ht/urn.201811224838CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loos, EF and Ivan, L (2018) Visual ageism in the media. In Ayalon, L and Tesch-Roemer, C (eds), Contemporary Aspects on Ageism. Berlin: Springer, pp. 163–176.10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8_11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loos, EF, Ivan, L, Fernández-Ardèvol, M, Sourbati, M, Ekström, MC, Wilińska, M, Carlo, S and Schiau, I (2017 a) Ageing well? A cross-country analysis of the way older people are visually represented on websites of organizations for older people. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology 8, 63–83.Google Scholar
Loos, EF, Kubinski, P and Romero, M (2017 b) The representation of older people playing a digital game in the short film ‘Pony Place’: a semiotic and narratological analysis. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology 8, 43–62.Google Scholar
Makita, M, Mas-Bleda, A, Stuart, E and Thelwall, M (2021) Ageing, old age and older adults: a social media analysis of dominant topics and discourses. Ageing & Society 41, 247–272.10.1017/S0144686X19001016CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MediaAuditFinland (2017) LT ja JT Tarkastustilasto 2016. Available at https://mediaauditfinland.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Levikkitilasto-2016.pdf.Google Scholar
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (2015) Information to Support Well-being and Service Renewal. eHealth and eSocial Strategy 2020. Available at http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/74459/URN_ISBN_978-952-00-3575-4.pdf.Google Scholar
Moscovici, S (1976) La Psychoanalyse, son Image, son Public [Psychoanalysis, Its Image and Its Public], 2nd Edn. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.Google Scholar
Moscovici, S (2000) The phenomenon of social representations. In Duveen, G (ed.), Social Representations: Explorations in Social Psychology. Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 18–77.Google Scholar
Moscovici, S (2008) Psychoanalysis: Its Image and Its Public. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Moscovici, S and Marková, I (2001) Ideas and their development: A dialogue between Serge Moscovici and Ivana Marková. In Duveen, G (ed.), Social Representations: Explorations in Social Psychology. New York: New York University Press, pp. 224–286.Google Scholar
Ofcom (2019) Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes. Report 2019. London: Ofcom. Available at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/149124/adults-media-use-and-attitudes-report.pdf.Google Scholar
Official Statistics of Finland (2014) Väestön tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö 2014 [Use of Information and Communications Technology by Individuals 2014]. Available at https://www.stat.fi/til/sutivi/2014/sutivi_2014_2014-11-06_fi.pdf.Google Scholar
Oró-Piqueras, M (2014) Challenging stereotypes? The older woman in the TV series Brothers & Sisters. Journal of Aging Studies 31, 20–25.10.1016/j.jaging.2014.08.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peace, S, Dittmann-Kohli, F, Westerhof, GJ and Bond, J (2007) The ageing world. In Bond, J, Peace, S, Dittmann-Kohli, F and Westerhof, G (eds), Ageing in Society. London: Sage, pp. 1–14.Google Scholar
Prieler, M, Kohlbacher, F, Hagiwara, S and Arima, A (2015) The representation of older people in television advertisements and social change: the case of Japan. Ageing & Society 35, 865–887.10.1017/S0144686X1400004XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasi, P (2018) Internet nonusers. In Warf, B (ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Internet, Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 532–539.Google Scholar
Rasi, P and Kilpeläinen, A (2015) The digital competences and agency of older people living in rural villages in Finnish Lapland. Seminar.net. International Journal of Media, Technology & Lifelong Learning 11, 149–160.Google Scholar
Rasi, P, Vuojärvi, H and Rivinen, S (in press) Promoting media literacy among older people: a systematic review. Adult Education Quarterly. Available online doi:10.1177/0741713620923755 .Google Scholar
Saari, A and Säntti, J (2018) The rhetoric of the ‘digital leap’ in Finnish educational policy documents. European Educational Research Journal 17, 442–457.10.1177/1474904117721373CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sammut, G, Andreouli, E, Gaskell, G and Valsiner, J (2015) Social representations: a revolutionary paradigm? In Sammut, G, Andreouli, E, Gaskell, G and Valsiner, J (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3–11.10.1017/CBO9781107323650.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selwyn, N (2003) Doing IT for the kids: re-examining children, computers and the ‘information society’. Media, Culture & Society 25, 351–378.Google Scholar
Shaw, P and Tan, Y (2015) Constructing digital childhoods in Taiwanese children's newspapers. New Media & Society 17, 1867–1885.10.1177/1461444814535193CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TNS opinion & social (2016) Media Pluralism and Democracy. Survey Conducted by TNS opinion & social at the Request of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (Special Eurobarometer No. 452). Available at http://ec.europa.eu/COMMFrontOffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/SPECIAL/surveyKy/2119.Google Scholar
Vuorikari, R, Punie, Y, Carretero, S and Van den Brande, L (2016) DigComp 2.0: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens. Update Phase 1: The Conceptual Reference Model. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/digcomp-20-digital-competence-framework-citizens-update-phase-1-conceptual-reference-model.Google Scholar
Wada, M, Hurd Clark, L and Rozanova, J (2015) Constructions of sexuality in later life: analyses of Canadian magazine and newspaper portrayals of online dating. Journal of Aging Studies 32, 40–49.10.1016/j.jaging.2014.12.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagner, W and Kronberger, N (2001) Killer tomatoes! Collective symbolic coping with biotechnology. In Deaux, K and Philogène, G (eds), Representations of the Social. Bridging Theoretical Traditions. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, pp. 147–164.Google Scholar
Wagner, W, Duveen, G, Farr, R, Jovchelovitch, S, Lorenzi-Cioldi, F, Marková, I and Rose, D (1999) Theory and method of social representations. Asian Journal of Social Psychology 2, 95–125.10.1111/1467-839X.00028CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westerhof, GJ and Tulle, E (2007) Meanings of ageing and old age: discursive contexts, social attitudes and personal identities. In Bond, J, Peace, S, Dittmann-Kohli, F and Westerhof, G (eds), Ageing in Society. London: Sage, pp. 235–254.Google Scholar
Williams, A, Wadleigh, PM and Ylänne, V (2010) Images of older people in UK magazine advertising: toward a typology. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 71, 83–114.10.2190/AG.71.2.aCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ylänne, V (2015) Representations of ageing in the media. In Twigg, J and Martin, W (eds), Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology. London: Routledge, pp. 369–376.Google Scholar
Yoon, K (2006) The making of neo-Confucian cyberkids: representations of young mobile phone users in South Korea. New Media & Society 8, 753–771.10.1177/1461444806067587CrossRefGoogle Scholar