The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Perception of Aging and the Elderly in Turkey and Public Policy Recommendations for Improving the Social Image of the Elderly

The goal of the project; Identifying the components of the hegemonic image of old age in Turkey, understanding the role this image plays in the process of experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, questioning the impact of the epidemic on social perceptions and resistant stereotypes about old age, analyzing the potential of this effect to deepen hegemonic patterns stemming from age discrimination. and presenting public policy recommendations to improve the image. Within the scope of the project, a wide conventional and social media scanning was carried out to cover the period of January-April 2020. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 83 interviewees from three different age groups in Ankara. The data obtained from both the media survey and the interviews were subjected to discourse analysis. Within the framework of the project findings, it has been determined that the strongest tendency in terms of the components of the hegemonic social image of aging belongs to the approach that sees aging as negative, and that negative aging images and associations play an important role in the experiences of the elderly regarding the COVID-19 epidemic. It has been understood that the epidemic contributes to the strengthening and reproduction of the negative perception of aging, which is common in Turkey, and that practices and patterns based on age discrimination that work against the elderly people deepen and become more layered. It has been observed that the COVID-19 process acts as a kind of catalyst in the emergence of the phenomenon of intergenerational miscommunication and the clarification of country-specific dynamics of generational conflict. It has been observed that in similar moments of crisis where social solidarity and cohesion need to be increased, action should be taken as soon as possible to reconstruct the image of old age so that the patterns of discrimination that elderly individuals are exposed to during the COVID-19 process are not repeated. In this context, under the guidance of theoretical implications on active aging, projects that will bring together young people and older people in a productive time-sharing matrix in order to rehabilitate the negative widespread image that sees the elderly as an "inefficient and not contributing to society" group in Turkey and to reduce intergenerational communication; There is a need to design and implement a systematic and long-term mobilization with a high impact, awareness-raising and public opinion-forming, both in formal education and conventional media channels, and especially in social media, in order to renew the image.