To Prepare:

Find a total of five media resources: at least one global/international source, one national source from your country, and one local source from your community (I LIVE IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN). Sources may include advertisements, magazines, newspapers, or agency websites geared specifically to older adults, but only one may be related to senior living facilities.

For this Assignment, enter the text/content of all the selected sources into one of the word cloud generators from the Optional Resources this week (or another of your choosing). You should choose one that provides a visual element to examine the results. The word cloud will reveal implicit messages present through analysis of word frequency, which you may then analyze through the literature.

The Assignment (3–4 pages):

Write a 3- to 4-page paper in which you do the following:

· Identify your rationale for selecting each media resource as it relates to this week’s readings and overall goals of the course.

· Explain any preconceived ideas, opinions, and/or judgments that you had prior to doing the search.

· Explain your reactions to the word cloud results as they relate to your own perceptions of aging. Support your reactions with two or three journal articles about the effects of implicit messages within media sources regarding people who are older.

RESOURCES

Required Readings

· Kunkel, S. R., & Settersten, Jr., R. A. (2022). Aging, society, and the life course (6th ed.). Springer.

· Chapter 3, “An Aging World” (pp. 51–75)

· Topical Essay, “iElders” (pp. 162–162)

· Buffel, T., McGarry, P., Phillipson, C., De Donder, L., Dury, S., De Witte, N., & … Verté, D. (2014). Developing age-friendly cities: Case studies from Brussels and Manchester and implications for policy and practice.Links to an external site. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 26(1/2), 52–72.

· Hongtu, C., Levkoff, S., & Kleinman, A. (2014). Contextual knowledge: From globalization to global aging.Links to an external site. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 39(2), 141–158.

· Fealy, G., McNamara, M., Treacy M. P., & Lyons, I. (2012). Constructing ageing and age identities: A case study of newspaper discourses.Links to an external site. Ageing & Society, 32(1), 85–102.

· Fitzgerald, K. G., & Caro, F. G. (2014). An overview of age-friendly cities and communities around the world.Links to an external site. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 26(1/2), 1–18.

· Lundgren, A. S., & Ljuslinder, K. (2011). ”The baby-boom is over and the ageing shock awaits”: Populist media imagery in news-press representations of population ageing.Links to an external site. International Journal of Ageing & Later Life, 6(2), 39–71.