Forever young: Visual representations of gender and age in online dating sites for older adults

Abstract

Online dating has become increasingly popular among older adults following broader social media adoption patterns. The current study examined the visual representations of people on 39 dating sites intended for the older population, with a particular focus on the visualization of the intersection between age and gender. All 39 dating sites for older adults were located through the Google search engine. Visual thematic analysis was performed with reference to general, non-age-related signs (e.g., facial expression, skin color), signs of aging (e.g., perceived age, wrinkles), relational features (e.g., proximity between individuals), and additional features such as number of people presented. The visual analysis in the present study revealed a clear intersection between ageism and sexism in the presentation of older adults. The majority of men and women were smiling and had a fair complexion, with light eye color and perceived age of younger than 60. Older women were presented as younger and wore more cosmetics as compared with older men. The present study stresses the social regulation of sexuality, as only heterosexual couples were presented. The narrow representation of older adults and the anti-aging messages portrayed in the pictures convey that love, intimacy, and sexual activity are for older adults who are "forever young."

Online Dating Profiles and Problems in Older Adults: A Review

“…They reported that the majority of the older men and women were smiling, fair complexion, light eye color and looked younger than 60. The "looking younger" was consistent with the older adults "feeling younger" [28].…”

“…The Carstensen et al (2011) sample may have been self-selected for old people who "feel younger". In a recent study on visual representations of people on 39 dating sites intended for older adults, for example, the sample was comprised of older adults who "felt younger" [28]. These authors did a visual thematic analysis of the older adults on these sites.…”

Loneliness and Anxiety About Aging in Adult Day Care Centers and Continuing Care Retirement Communities

“…A possible link between anxiety about aging and loneliness can be found in the stereotype embodiment theory ( Levy, 2009 ). According to this theory ( Levy, 2009 ), older people are constantly bombarded with messages that the world belongs to the “young” and that they should look and behave “young” ( Ayalon, 2015 ; Ayalon & Gewirtz-Meydan, 2017 ; Gewirtz-Meydan & Ayalon, 2017 ). These messages are internalized at a very young age ( Ansello, 1977 ; Babcock, MaloneBeach, Hannighofer, & Woodworth-Hou, 2016 ).…”

How Old Do I Look? Exploring the Facial Cues of Age in a Tasked Eye-Tracking Study

“…41 In addition, it has been reported that women experience higher rates of ageism than men due to problematic and negative stereotypes in society. 24,42 A second limitation of our study is the limited presentation of stimuli. All photographs were shown in two-dimensional plane and frontal view.…”