La vecchiaia non è un destino. Stereotipi e ideologie dell'età anziana

The article analyses the interconnections between the increasing aging of the society and the related public communication strategies. The first part of the paper discusses the growing phenomenon of the aging, in particular in western countries. The main consequences of such a phenomenon are discussed, with focus on the changes in demographic definitions of elderly, the public policies about the welfare, and the impact on the society as a whole and on the individuals. The second part illustrates the actual trends in public communication, focussing the elderly both as interesting targets for advertising and media strategies, and as objects of media representations. Serious attention is given to the relationship between elderly and digital media, through some evidence coming from recent empirical research.