Keywords

1 Introduction

The rapid development of information and communication technologies greatly influence the transformation of the media - from linear to non-linear services, and the audiences - from passive consumers to active prosumers (producers and consumers). And if the processes of politicization of the media and mediatization of politics are most closely associated with the traditional media (print, radio and television), the online media space (social networks, blogs, vlogs, etc.) makes the audiences active participants in the communication process. Thus, in the contemporary media ecosystem people can enter an unmediated, direct dialogue. While traditional media can rely on codes of ethics, self-regulation and co-regulation in compliance with professional principles, the content in the online environment can hardly be regulated and it is difficult to organize public correction of the politics. It is not only via the traditional media that awareness of the shortcomings of the policies on ageing can be raised but it could be done via online communication as well.

No matter how positive the impact of ICT applications and media developments on progress in all areas of life might be, it is no less true that they pose challenges to the social stratification of society. In contemporary ICT and media realm it is important to focus on the problem of overcoming prejudices and negative stereotypes regarding generation differences as well as on the capacity of older people to take part in, and contribute to intercultural dialogue. Therefore, media and information literacy programs acquire additional importance in today’s communication environment.

The trend of population ageing determines the need for urgent prevention of the social exclusion of older people from the modern information and communication environment.

This article is based on two interlinked research questions. The first one aims at studying a selection of important general and specialized institutional documents of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union on ICT and media policies with regard to ageing and age discrimination. Based on this background, the second research question aims at examining the vulnerability of older users of media content, compared to younger generations in constantly changing media ecosystem in Bulgaria.

2 Framework of ICT and Media Policies on Ageing

2.1 United Nations’ and European Union’s Age Anti-discrimination Policies

The population trends display the growing percentage of the aged population. Although it is expected that the overall population of the European Union will grow to 532 millions by 2060, the population in nearly half of the member states (Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain) will decrease. The prognoses show also that the ratio of people above 65 years to those between 15 and 64 will increase from 27.8% to 50.1% [1].

Despite these forecasts, the amount of attention devoted to older people is still not proportionate to the challenges they face in the modern world. For instance, in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in 1948, as well as in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which lay the basis of the International Bill of Human Rights (adopted in 1976), age discrimination is not explicitly referred to. Article 2 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sets out the basic principles of equality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, forbids the making of distinctions of any kind, including race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, but it does not mention those related to age [2].

In the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (formally entitled Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms), adopted in 1953 by the Council of Europe, there is likewise no specific text concerning age discrimination. For the 47 member states, Article 14 specifically prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, national minority, property, birth or other status such as sexual orientation, but not discrimination based on age. Only in the provisions regarding the members of the European Court of Human Rights, there is a limitation regarding the terms of office and dismissal: the term of office of judges shall expire when they reach the age of 70 [3].

Thorough institutional attention for the ageing population began to appear as late as in the last decade of the 20th century. On December 16, 1991 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Principles for Older Persons (Resolution 46/91). The outlined 18 principles are grouped under five themes: independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity. In the section on dignity there is a text against age discrimination: “Older persons should be treated fairly regardless of age, gender, racial or ethnic background, disability or other status, and be valued independently of their economic contribution” [4].

The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and the Political Declaration, adopted by the Second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002, are still among the global guiding documents that have a priority focus in the areas of the rights of older adults and their well-being in a supportive environment [5].

Certain provisions on the equal and respectful treatment of old people are present in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, drafted in 2000, which entered into force after the Treaty of Lisbon on December 1, 2009. Thus Article 21: Non-Discrimination stipulates that “Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation, shall be prohibited”. Special attention is paid to the rights of the elderly: according to Article 25, the Union recognizes and respects the rights of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life [6].

Since the start of the second decade of the 21st century, there have been active efforts to promote the adoption of a special Convention on the Rights of Older Persons by the UN. Alas, with no success, so far. It is perfectly obvious that these rights cannot be thoroughly defined and protected without taking into consideration the modern information and communication environment. Although many institutional documents related to technology, business models and the editorial responsibility of the media have been adopted, the multi-faceted attitude at older people as objects of coverage and as subjects of the communication process have still not been treated properly and effectively. Nevertheless, the trend is that older adults are not only passive users of the traditional media (press, radio, and television), but they are also becoming prosumers, i.e. active participants and creators of content in the online space.

2.2 European Policies on ICT and Media with Regard to Ageing

Information and Communication Technologies

Contemporary information and communication technologies can help older adults to improve the quality of their well being, preserve their health, and live longer independently.

In connection with the commemoration of 2012 as the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations the Eurostat published a statistical portrait of the European Union. Its section on “Silver Surfers” is devoted to the better use of the potential of ICT for healthy and independent ageing. This includes: social inclusion, access to public services, lifelong learning, social and economic activeness. Statistical data show growing use of the Internet in the age groups 55–64 years and 65–74 years for electronic mail correspondence; for seeking information on goods, services and health; for reading newspapers online; for participating in education activities, etc. E-banking and e-shopping have become increasingly popular lately [7].

In the “Ageing Well in the Information Society” communication, published in 2007 and launched within the framework of i2010 Initiative on e-Inclusion, the European Commission presented an Action plan for enhanced application of ICT in dealing with the important economic and social challenges caused by ageing of the European population [8].

It is expected that in 2020 a quarter of Europe’s population will be over 65, while expenditure on retirement and health care will have tripled by 2050. The Action plan is oriented to promote and coordinate the development of ICTs associated with services for older people in the European Union in order to enable them:

  • at the workplace – to prolong their working life through development of electronic skills, while maintaining work-life balance;

  • in society – to stay socially active and creative, through networking and access to public and commercial services, thus reducing the social isolation of older people, particularly in rural areas;

  • at home – to encourage a higher quality of life and maintain higher degree of independence [9].

The aim of the plan is to both help older people to achieve a safer and more independent old age and to promote the products and services of ICTs for people with disabilities and for older adults. It also aims at giving political and industrial impetus for creating and enlarging instruments and ICT services accessible to old users and seeking solutions for the challenges of ageing. These tasks enhance social inclusion of the elderly and are further developed in the H 2020 EU Research and Innovation program [10].

The political debates about “the graying of Europe” are based on ageing prognoses, some of them outlined in the comprehensive Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. The Strategy envisages the development of technologies in a way that they would enable older adults to live ambient supported independent and healthy life and to take an active part in society. The program in the field of digital technologies for Europe (A Digital Agenda for Europe) is fundamental to the Strategy and aims to accelerate high-speed access to the Internet and to increase the benefit of the digital market for households [11].

Media

Providing high speed access to advanced public services and diverse multimedia content for work, training and entertainment has become the mainstay of the knowledge based society. Contemporary broadband connections have great impact on improving life quality, as well as on intensifying social cohesion, especially for the older adults. Therefore intensive improvement of ICT skills and digital literacy are critical to the effectiveness of any media strategy to further advancement from ‘user-centered’ to ‘user-driven’ developments for achieving the universality of the digital services.

The technical possibility of combining different media in modern mobile communication devices is facilitating the emergence of new hybrid forms. The options to choose different communication platforms and, consequently, the possibility of satisfying specific individual needs, also increase. To improve their quality of life, older adults today have larger choices to attain equity through inclusion, provided by the new communication technologies and hence, to attain individual and social satisfaction.

Despite the rapid development of ICT and online services, television continues to be the most preferred source of information and entertainment for most European households. The main internationally acknowledged instruments in the field of TV broadcasting continue to be the European Convention on Transfrontier Television (ECTT) of the Council of Europe, adopted in 1989 and the Audiovisual Media Service Directive (AVMSD), which has been introduced in 2007 by the European Commission. The ECTT and the amending Protocols on the one hand, and the AVMSD on the other, have similar objectives, although the intention of the AVMS Directive is to create a common market in broadcasting.

As a legally binding document, the aim of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television is to facilitate the transfrontier transmission and retransmission of television programme services. It also lays down a set of minimum rules concerning the responsibility of broadcasters with regard to European content of programming; advertising, teleshopping and sponsorship, the protection of certain individual rights, etc. [12].

The Audiovisual Media Service Directive (AVMSD) as a successor of the Television without Frontiers Directive 89/552/EEC (1989) offers a comprehensive legal framework that covers all linear (broadcasting) and non-linear (on-demand) audiovisual media services, and provides less detailed and more flexible regulation and modernized rules on TV advertising in order to better finance audiovisual content. The AVMS Directive also upholds the basic pillars of Europe’s audiovisual media model. In particular, the Directive underlines the importance of promoting media literacy, development of which can help people to “exercise informed choices, understand the nature of content and services, and take advantage of the full range of opportunities offered by new communication technologies” [13].

Both instruments, the ECTT and the AVMSD, however, do not have a special focus on the production and dissemination of content aimed at the aged population.

The rapid changes of the audiovisual market require a thorough refining – under a broad consensus – of the existing norms in the ECTT and the AVMSD. The challenge is whether the regulatory changes should anticipate or follow media practices.

In times of intensive social, economic and technological transformations, the very paradigm of the media inevitably changes as well. The media are becoming convergent phenomena. Audiences also change: they are shifting from massive to individualized, from passive to active. A number of issues, important also for the older people, stay increasingly important, such as: freedom of expression and access to information; pluralism of opinions and variety of contents; professional standards and journalistic ethics; transparency of ownership and accountability to the audience; protection of underage and vulnerable social groups; cooperation between regulation, self-regulation and co-regulation; and the expansion of the social media.

In its volume “Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?” The World Economic Forum pays a special attention to the very important question as to whether the portrayal of ageing in media and advertisement influences society’s views and responses to population ageing. And also, whether media messaging creates a distorted view of ageing [14].

Further on, the World Economic Forum in its White Paper on Digital Transformation of Industries: Media, Entertainment and Information points out the widespread recognition among different stakeholders that the role of digital technology is rapidly shifting from being a driver of marginal efficiency to an enabler of fundamental innovation and disruption [15].

Also, the demographic shifts may have a dramatic impact on consumers’ expectations from media and communication industries, as well for their ICT literacy and skills while navigating the digital world. In this sense the habits of the millennials (the generation born between 1981 and 1997) differ from those of the older adults (55+). The demand for technology services that offer convenience, memorabilia and instant access to content anywhere and anytime by the younger population is often juxtaposed to the preferences of the older people for health and wellness, entertainment and education services designed especially for them.

In this new realm it is very important to analyze how the businesses and the audiences of the media and communication industries will gain more value than disruption. The future when artificial intelligence will rigorously impact the creative process in media and communication, thus replacing the multi-channel experiences, is not that distant. Measures should be foreseen to prevent consumers’ vulnerability especially from the expanding information overload and the growing digital fatigue.

3 Surveys on Trust in Media in Bulgaria

3.1 Outline of the Focused Survey

Contemporary media ecosystem challenges elderly audiences in many ways. To name a few – these are the fast and growing technological developments, the diversification of information resources (especially in the Internet), the rise of nonprofessionals’ generated content, the distribution of distorted or fabricated information, etc.

To measure the extent of vulnerability of older users of media content, compared to younger generations in constantly changing media ecosystem a focus group survey has been initiated by the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication of the St. Kliment Ohridsky Sofia University.

Apart from studying the elderly audiences’ vulnerabilities, the focus of the survey is to identify behavioral differences among the Bulgarian generations as well as their defense capabilities when facing untrustworthy information in contemporary media and communication environment.

Another focus is rooted in the importance attributed to the fake news phenomenon in all its dimensions as well as to its negative impacts on society. This phenomenon is perceived as a form of hybrid threat for EU security and fighting it is in the focus of a number of activities of the European Commission, namely – the activities of the Commissioner for Digital economy Maria Gabriel, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU [16].

Having in mind the dire consequences for the society brought by devaluation of truth and the distribution of fake news, Pope Francis proposed to dedicate the 2018 World Day of Social Communications to these problems in order to support journalists in their mission to speak truth and to send a message to the world “The truth will set you free: Fake news and journalism for peace” [17].

The subject of the survey is the preferences of the different generations towards various types of media, their interests in different thematic areas, the degree of influence and the means of counteracting fake news.

The methods used are as follows:

  • field questionaire and poll;

  • data analysis;

  • comparative analysis based on age;

  • comparative analysis based on data from similar surveys;

  • documents and statistics research.

The term generations is used in relation with the different age groups, differentiated by the degree of their labor activity. For the purposes of this research the traditional divide in four age groups has been applied: 18–30 (mostly students), 30–55 (actively working people), 56–63 (pre-retirement age, with dampening activity on the labor market), and 64+ (retired, non-working). Table 1 shows the respondents divide by age and by education.

Table 1. Level of education of generations
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The term vulnerable is used for groups who can not fully participate as users of the media ecosystem due to lack of knack or competences to use contemporary technical means of communication and are not capable to counter harmful or untrustworthy content. Also these are people who are threatened by social isolation.

The term fake/false refers to falsified news content, disguised as legitimate news produced in order to attract users and to increase profit or to pursue political goals [18,19,20,21].

The survey is part of a broader field survey, conducted in September and October 2017 among 77 respondents (aged 18–64+). It is not representative. The questionnaire is composed of ten questions, seven - closed and three - semi-open. A control question is included, the purpose of which is to establish the level of understanding of the questions and/or the bona fide attitude of the respondents to the problems, subject to research.

4 Results

The research found out drastic differences regarding the type of preferred media among the different generation groups. While young users devote their time mostly to online media, older users aged 64+ give their preferences to the press and the television. Since people encounter only the direct impression of the media they use, it is logical to conclude that they run upon untrustworthy content in the same type of media (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Most common places for distributing fake news

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The assumption that the young devote much of their media time mainly to Internet activities, including social networks and social media, is confirmed. However, the data show that this statement also applies to their parents. In fact, people in active working age (35–44 and 45–55) are the largest groups of users of two of the most popular networks in Bulgaria and Europe - Facebook and Twitter [22]. The demographic profile of the Bulgarian users of social media and social networks builds on preferences by all age groups, including people in the 64+ range, albeit less than others. These preferences explain why social networks and social media are recognized by all respondents, including retirees, as mainstream fraudulent content generators (51% of all respondents point to them as a preferred distribution environment, and 68% - as a primary source of fake news. Political actors collect 29% of the responses and media comes third with 25%) (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2.
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Fake news primary sources

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As the age of social networking and using of social media grows, the segment of social media and social networks is gradually diminishing as a source of fake content, but it does not disappear completely. Only the oldest respondents give the political class an advantage over this indicator. This is easy to understand given the fact that people of retirement age are keenly interested in politics and government news as their well-being (the size and increase of their earnings, health insurance, social benefits - personal assistant, heating support, etc.) and sometimes - and their survival - depend to a large extent on the decisions of the public authorities.

All this determines the interest of the older audience in topics related to domestic politics, security and public order, economy and finance. These are topics that are directly related to the lives, health and safety of the elderly and their families. For this reason, they are most sensitive to the spreading of false and distorted facts precisely on this subject. 79% of the people in pre-retirement age and 63% of the retired people claim that fake information most often refers to issues of domestic policy, economy, crime, and security. For young people under 30, politics is a distant abstraction without a clear framework. For them free time, not professional development, has been a cult. Their interests are related to sports, lifestyle of public figures and celebrities, and for this reason the majority of them (78%) claim that the media most often speculate about the facts of the celebrities’ lives. The middle age generation tries to stick to the pattern of being informed on a wider range of issues. The opinion of the respondents aged 30–55 is that untrue information is distributed in a balanced way between domestic politics, economy, crime and public order, and the lifestyle of celebrities (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3.
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Topics, subject to falsified information

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A large number of respondents (57%) encounter unreliable information each day, and over a quarter say they fall into fake news every week. Less than 3% insist that they have never encountered media fiction. These percentages portray the Bulgarian audience as being conscious and, to a large extent, literate enough to recognize untrue information.

The highest (67%) is the percentage of recognition of fake news in the younger part of the audience (18–30 years old), and the lowest - in people at pre-retirement and retirement age (56–64+) - 42% and 47%). The explanation is not so much in the higher media literacy of young people, as in the way media is consumed by them and even in their lifestyle (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4.
figure 4

Most common methods for fake news distribution

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The main source of information about the younger generations is online media and chatting with friends (direct or computer-mediated). Not to trust institutions and authoritative personalities is a matter of principle, although groundless. The elderly consumption pattern is distinguished by higher level of trust in linear electronic media.

Over half of the elderly categorically recognize false news as mixing real facts with fiction (half-truth), on the same footing as the circumstances that influence the audience’s emotions and beliefs in order to ignore objective facts.

The older audiences are aware of the nuances and the various forms of “fake news”. They have the confidence to recognize them and counteract them. As the age of the respondents grows up, their confidence that they will not be affected by the harmful effects of untrustworthy information increases (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5.
figure 5

Fake news vulnerability level

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For younger users, high self esteem is likely to be tied to the fact that they are very well familiar with the technological environment in which fake content is prioritized. As they devote much of their time to it, they have the means of identifying and blocking technology (software, mobile applications) on unreliable sites and enjoy the support of their online community. Young people are hardly under the influence of traditional media (radio, television and the press) as they rarely (or at all) do not use those [23]. In addition, the audiences aged 18–30 (65.5%) and 31–55 years (33.33%) tend to carry out their own research on the reliability of information, including – the usage of specialized software or mobile applications. Elderly people tend to rely on the good faith of journalists and content authors (63%), and most of all, on their own life experiences of distinguishing the truth from falsehood (50% of 56-63-year-olds and 32% of the aged 64+).

At first glance, this puts the older users in the position of the most vulnerable part of the media audience. But not if the modern view is taken that the public is sustainable, including significant attempts at manipulation, triggering various emotional, value and cognitive barriers, and when it prefers to get social referrals from close people instead of media. At the same time, these audiences are susceptible to messages that are timely, interesting, personally oriented and which meet their expectations, understanding and experience, messages that help decrease their feelings of being socially insecure as well as reduce their psychological and cognitive discomfort [24]. On the other hand, especially this segment of the audiences seem to be the subject of personalized media messages, and is underestimated in the development of policy and marketing strategies (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6.
figure 6

Means and methods of news verification

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The fact is that with age, the percentage of people willing to use technical means to denounce unreliable content is decreasing. However, to consider that insufficient technical and media literacy are inherent characteristics of people of retirement age is wrong. Their technical skills and abilities must be seen in the historical context of the time they have been acquired and developed.

During the EU Online Media Summit, organized by the European Broadcasting Union on 22 October 2015 in Dublin, Ireland [25], it was pointed out that young retirees in Western Europe are an underestimated (market and not just market) niche. The clarification that this is valid for Western Europe societies is by no means casual. Experts stated that “young retirees”, i.e. people aged about 60, can be productive (both “lucrative” and still active in the economy). These are people with still strong social activity and social contacts. They have free financial resources (pensions) that they would like to spend. Moreover, despite the perception that information technology and new media are “on and off” for the young people, in fact, for the “young retirees in the West” the digital world is no strange at all. In fact, today’s “young retirees” are the people who created the Internet and laid the foundations for satellite technologies, mobile communications and everything that is now taken for granted and is easy to use. On the other hand, this is the generation that grew up with punk, with the music of Sex Pistols, and it can hardly be called “congested” (conservative). In short, young retirees are a niche that is actively present in the digital society and is waiting to be recognized in the digital services market.

In Bulgaria, the technological revolution is not as backward in comparison with the Western world. In the 20s of the 20th century the Bulgarians listened to their own national Radio. The Bulgarian National Television, which began broadcasting in the late 1950s, was the first in the Balkans. The 70s and the 80s were marked by the rise of electronics. At that time Bulgaria produced its own brands of computers, computing machines, processors, magnetic heads, compact discs, radio and television sets, telephones, radio navigation equipment, etc. Bulgarian scientists and engineers participated in space programs and projects. 1975–1990 were the golden years of Bulgarian electronics. With total exports of the country in 1989 of 13.5 billion BGN, machine-building and electronics - the two most intellectual branches of industry, accounted for nearly 60%. They employed about 600,000 people (a large number of them - well-educated engineers, scientists and business executives), with a total country population of nearly 8 million people. The backbone of these industry branches are the generations born in the 1950s and the 1960s [26] - today’s “young retirees” of Bulgaria aged between 60 and 70, as well as people on the border of active working age and pre-retirement, perceived as the “the technological generation” (the baby boomers), unlike the “internet generation” (X and Y) of their children and grandchildren today. Their contribution to the Bulgarian economy and society is strongly felt today. After the political changes of 1989, part of this valuable resource has drained abroad. However, those who stayed in the country are among the people who set the foundations of private initiative in high-tech manufacturing and services. These are people who are able to get their professional chance and for whom the digital world is not alien. That is why the “generation” of people around 50–67 has to be separated in a special group when discussing financial security, handling modern technical devices, making decisions, forming and maintaining an opinion.

Communication technical literacy, as far as it is fundamental to the functioning of consumers in the modern information ecosystem, has one more specific feature among the elderly in Bulgaria. Like “young retirees” who do not have technical education and have not worked in technology sectors, older people are also interested in developing skills to work with online information sources, smartphones and social networks, call and messaging applications such as Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc. [27, 28] This literacy is often the only chance for communication between older people and their descendants, scattered, mostly on economic downturns, at different points in the globalized world [29]. On the other hand, it enables pensioners to establish contacts and thus overcome social exclusion.

Respondents of the survey are most likely to have the greatest importance in terms of age (78%), education (50.64%) and residence (27%) as factors determining the extent of unreliable consumer impact. The most vulnerable are the adolescents aged 15–18 (28.33%), as well as the elderly aged 64+ (28.33%), those with the primary education (38%), and residents in small settlements in the countryside (18%).

According to the survey, television continues to enjoy the trust of over half of the respondents, and remains the most preferred among people in active and retirement age.

Every sixth of the respondents relies for trustworthy information on the radio, while social networks and the social media as well as websites are completely discredited. Almost 33% of the users state that there is no such media which can be trusted (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7.
figure 7

Most trusted media

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The results of the survey confirm the sustained trust in television as a medium in Bulgaria, registered in the last two years by the Open Society Institute within the framework of the Report on Public Attitudes to Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights. According to the report, television is the main source of information for 74% of Bulgarians in 2016 [30]. The Alpha Research Agency in its National Representative Survey indicates television as the main source of information, especially on domestic and international issues for 90% of the Bulgarians [31]. Compared to other EU countries, Bulgarians watch more television, read less newspapers and listen less to radio programmes [32]. This resilience to the interest in television in Bulgaria is against the backdrop of a worldwide decline in traditional media consumption, as recorded in 2016 [33].

5 Discussion

When assessing the media vulnerability of older people in Bulgaria, it should be borne in mind that they are not a homogeneous group of people. Apart from the traditional division of people at pre-retirement and retirement age, there is another intermediate demographic group, whose characteristics are sharply different from the traditional perception of older adults in Bulgaria. The “technological” generation (today’s Bulgarians at the age of 50–67), which ensured the boom of the high-tech industry in Bulgaria in two socio-economic systems, has a high social status, a good financial position and opportunities for coping in the modern ICT environment. Media and political PR specialists should view them as a group with significant, underestimated potential, rather than as people with disruptive functions in society.

Enhancing the communication and media literacy of the elderly should be encouraged by the governmental and the NGO sector as it satisfies several needs simultaneously: communicating with relatives who have emigrated abroad, overcoming social exclusion by establishing contacts with people with similar interests, diversifying the channels for obtaining a variety of information, providing an opportunity to check its credibility, etc.

6 Conclusion

Population ageing and the developments of modern media ecosystem are two interlinked processes in contemporary world. The trend of population ageing determines the need for urgent prevention of the vulnerability and the social exclusion of older people from the modern information and communication environment.

In answering the first research question the undertaken analysis on policies of UN, CoE and EU with regard to ageing and age discrimination, as well as on corresponding ICT and media policies indicates some significant tendencies:

  • legally: there is a general insufficiency of internationally binding legal instruments to provide reliable regulatory mechanisms against age discrimination as well as for a more balanced and adequate media coverage of older people;

  • technologically: the dynamic progress of ICTs is challenging the very concept of the traditional media. Digital technologies, broadband and web casting increase the number of channels, thereby providing users with multiple choices of linear and non-linear programming. As positive as these opportunities may be, they also pose significant challenges to media consumption by the older population;

  • socially: the contemporary ICT based environment has an ambivalent impact on media consumption. Older people are both consumers and creators of content, and moreover, they mutually socialize with one another. However, the merge of essential characteristics of journalism, PR and advertising and the loose professional standards increase the vulnerability of the audiences from the distributed content.

Answering the second research question, based on the results of the presented surveys, it can be noted that the teenagers and the oldest, poorly educated, mostly living in the countryside users of media content can be considered as truly vulnerable participants in the contemporary media ecosystem. Communication skills tend to converge rather than distinguish young people from older generations. But while for adolescents it is due to their immaturity, for the elderly it is a stable part of their value system. Namely this group of older adults has no other means of protection against unreliable and manipulative information, apart from the credibility and professionalism of journalists and of its own long life experience. Elderly people can withstand media impact when it is contrary to their established beliefs, knowledge and patterns of behavior. However they can not counteract the personified, reliant on their feelings and highest values, influence.

Prejudices and negative stereotypes are among the major current challenges relative to the life of the ageing population in the modern information and communication environment. Identifying the ways in which these prejudices may be effectively overcome will help to prevent vulnerability and to neutralize the rise of barriers to the full participation of older people in socio-cultural processes.