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Updated: Nov 26, 2025
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Published on: January 26, 2024
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Aging Narratives Over 210 Years (1810-2019)
Reuben Ng1,2, Ting Yu Joanne Chow1
1Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
Summary
Aging narratives have become increasingly negative over 210 years, shifting from positive portrayals to themes of illness and burden. Understanding historical context is key to combating ageism.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Linguistics
- Gerontology
Background:
- Ageism is a global health threat, yet its historical context remains understudied.
- Understanding the evolution of aging narratives is crucial for developing effective anti-ageism campaigns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the trend and content of aging narratives over 210 years across various genres.
- To identify predictors of ageism in historical texts.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a 600-million-word dataset from historical and contemporary American English corpora.
- Applied computational linguistics and statistical techniques to analyze over 150,000 texts.
Main Results:
- Aging narratives show a linear trend toward negativity over 210 years (p = .003).
- Early narratives (1800s) featured heroism and kinship, shifting to illness and burden (1900s) in media, except fiction.
- Key predictors of ageism include medicalization, status loss, and social ostracism.
Conclusions:
- While reversing ageism is challenging, its negative trajectory can be mitigated.
- This study provides a foundation for societal campaigns to combat ageism, especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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