To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few quasi-experimental prospective studies to analyze the impact of an educational intervention through social media on negative stereotypes about aging in a Spanish sample. The most striking finding suggests that participants in the intervention exhibited a reduction in their negative stereotypes about aging after a 7-day intervention. Our results indicate the potential of social media platforms like Instagram for a beneficial avenue in modifying negative age steretypes by disseminating positive and scientifically validated information via social media. This finding aligns with existing scientific literature, which indicates that interventions utilizing visual images (Levy, 1996) and communicating optimistic messages about aging to various segments of society, as well as programs based on education about aging myths (Nelson, 2016; Levy, 2018), yield greater benefits.
Regarding the sociodemographic variables collected in the questionnaires, none seemed to be associated with the CENVE scores prior to the intervention (Table 1) or with the pre-post differences in CENVE scores (Table 3), in contrast to previous scientific literature findings (Sánchez et al., 2009; Menéndez et al., 2016; Hidalgo, 2022). This could be attributed to the relatively homogeneous distribution of the sample in some of these variables, such as gender (97.2% female), education level (81.7% with university studies), occupation (75% employed), contact area with older adults (72.5% family), and cohabitation with an older adult (37.6%). However, it should be noted that the sample was mainly collected through "Instagram" accounts, where followers were predominantly women: @dr.rosamolina with 90.4% female followers, and @neuropsiquiatriazgz with 87.2% female followers, both with an age range between 25 and 54 years, with 85.3% and 85.1% respectively.
Based on scientific literature, it was expected that women would have fewer stereotypes than men, considering that women have been victims of significant stereotypes throughout history and in modern society (Colás & Villaciervos, 2007). They would be more empathetic and considerate towards other stigmatized groups, such as older adults. However, the low participation of men in this study did not allow us to identify significant differences in the male population concerning the reduction of negative age stereotypes.
Since our research was primarily composed of women, the reduction of negative stereotypes towards aging could have been enhanced due to this factor. The fact that 92.6% of the participants are women implies that the study's conclusions primarily apply to a female population. Additionally, we conducted hypothesis tests to determine if there were significant differences in responses between sexes and the effect this might have on the main objective. We also analyzed whether gender could be a confounding variable, and found that it is not, as the few men who participated behaved and responded similarly to the women. Having a predominantly female and diverse age group might have increased the efficacy of the program, as suggested by scientific literature, which indicates that interventions to reduce negative age stereotypes are particularly effective among groups consisting mainly of adults and women (Burnes et al., 2019). In this study, 68% of the participants were aged over 40, and 97.2% were women. Additionally, our intervention was based on one of the fundamental pillars of various anti-ageism intervention programs: education about aging myths, presenting aging as a time of activity, growth, and optimism for the future (Nelson, 2016; Levy, 2018). For example, by posting messages such as: "The ability to make decisions improves with age", “emotional regulation improves with age".
Regarding educational levels, we decided to collect this variable rather than by years to avoid the bias of not remembering the exact number of years, as people are more likely to recall the highest level of education they achieved. Additionally, this approach aligns with most studies, allowing for easier comparison with them. Our results did not show any differences related to education level, contrary to the findings of Menéndez et al. (2016), who concluded that individuals with higher educational levels scored lower on the CENVE questionnaire compared to those with medium or low educational levels, indicating fewer ageist stereotypes. Similarly, Sánchez et al. (2009) found that individuals with lower educational levels displayed more ageist stereotypes. Although our study did not find significant differences in CENVE scores based on educational level, participants with a university degree did have a lower average score on the questionnaire before analysis (indicating fewer stereotypes) than those with a lower level of education, suggesting a trend, even though it was not statistically significant.
Given that some research indicated that the negative impact of age discrimination is less pronounced among adults living in European countries with a greater context of religiosity, which may serve as a source of social support, leading to a more positive perception of aging (Levin & Chatters, 1998; Kim & Jung, 2021), an association was anticipated between ageist attitudes and the participants' religious beliefs, with 56% adhering to some form of faith. However, no significant differences were found. Authors like Steven-Long and Commons (1992) have suggested that this protective aspect has been overestimated, and in fact, greater religiosity among older adults does not necessarily associate with fewer stereotypes, indicating that this belief may be erroneous and not necessarily linked to this life stage, as religious individuals also harbor negative stereotypes about aging.
Surprisingly, no relationship was observed between the presence of negative stereotypes and contact with older adults, despite existing literature indicating that increased opportunities for interaction are associated with a more positive and reality-based perception, replacing the negative image frequently propagated by the media and society regarding this age group (Officer & de la Fuente, 2018; Hidalgo, 2022). However, a trend was observed in the reduction of average negative stereotypes towards older adults on the PRE questionnaire as the frequency of contact increased, with those with daily contact obtaining the lowest scores and those with monthly or no contact obtaining higher scores.
In relation to the previous point, 99.1% of the participants in this research knew at least one of their grandparents. Consequently, those who did not have the opportunity to know their grandparents might not have been as interested in participating in the survey, potentially having less motivation towards this topic. Thus, this could introduce a significant bias in our study, as the majority of participants had close contact with older adults, and as mentioned earlier, more opportunities for intergenerational contact (assuming it is positive) increase the likelihood of having a better perception of aging and may even reduce the development of ageist attitudes (Nelson, 2016; Levy, 2018; Hidalgo, 2022). In fact, according to the results obtained in the PRE questionnaire, individuals with a closer and more significant relationship with their grandparents (although in different ways) scored lower than those without any contact (up to 10 points lower than those with a closer relationship), though once again, these differences were not statistically significant.
Strengths and Limitations of the Study
I) This research presents a novel format both nationally and internationally, as interventions addressing this topic that have used social media are scarce, such as the one carried out by Peiró (2020) to reduce ageist attitudes via the "TikTok" social media platform. II) It employs social media, demonstrating its usefulness for psychoeducational purposes and health promotion and prevention. III) The rapid dissemination of information facilitates its spread to a relatively large number of individuals across various regions of Spain. IV) Once again, it highlights how education-based interventions can be a potential tool for reducing negative stereotypes about aging.
However, despite efforts to improve and enhance research on ageist stereotype interventions, this study has some limitations that should be addressed in future studies. I) The intervention was only carried out in Spain, which may introduce location-based bias and limitations when generalizing the results. II) Related to the previous point, the study had a fairly homogeneous sample of 109 individuals, with only 3 being male and most in a range of age between 23 and 39 years old, we could not reach older people through our social media profiles. We believe the sample had a higher population of women than men because the dissemination accounts through which the research was advertised have a larger number of female followers. All these could have limited the finding of significant associations with ageist attitudes. Moreover, older adults were underrepresented in our sample, consequently the findings may not reflect the experiences and perspectives of the older population. III) No control group makes it difficult to know whether the small changes were associated with the intervention or some other variable not controlled for in the study. IV) The intervention duration was short (1 week), possibly not providing enough time for a visible change in participants' negative stereotypes, and could have led to a social desirability effect, with respondents attempting to answer both questionnaires based on what they believe the evaluator expects of them (Coq & Asián, 2002). V) Furthermore, due to the short duration of the study, we do not know if the positive effects of the intervention are maintained in the long term. VI) We cannot ascertain the exact level of attention paid by participants to the intervention-related posts, as the follow-up relied on self-reported information, which may also be associated with a social desirability bias. VII) Since the intervention required completing two questionnaires separated in time and following an Instagram account, a significant portion of the initial sample (141 participants) was lost, considerably reducing our sample size.
Future Lines of Research
This study opens up several future research avenues. First, there is a need for a more in-depth examination of sociodemographic variables that may help explain the presence and development of ageist stereotypes, as well as their predictive capacity for the formation of such prejudices. This will require larger and more diverse samples in each of the categories being examined.
Furthermore, this research once again highlights education-based interventions as a potential tool for reducing negative stereotypes about aging. Considering the use of social media platforms, which allows for rapid and easy dissemination of information to a larger number of people, it would be interesting to continue using such platforms in future studies. These practices could contribute to improving the health, social support, and self-perception of both older adults and younger or middle-aged individuals (Nelson, 2016).