Senior in the social and media spaces (wersja papierowa)

Man living in the modern world is constantly exposed to changes: social, cultural, economic, technological, etc. According to Piotr Sztompka, the perceived changes concern primarily the transformations taking place in the organisation of the public life and in the patterns of thinking and acting in time; the modification or transformation of the way in which the society is organised; the variability of the relations between individuals, groups, organisations, cultures and communities taking place in time; transformations of behavioural patterns, social relations, institutions and the social structure in time (Sztompka, 2005, p. 22). Continuous changes are taking place in the social structure, as mentioned by Sztompka. This is visible, inter alia, in the phenomenon of population ageing which is common in many countries. The demographic changes confirm the fact of population ageing in the countries of the Visegrád Group, which is determined by the increased life expectancy as well as a drop in the birth rate.

Introduction

The rate of the changes is of significant importance and specifically affects the seniors’ lives. Elders, due to their age and changing social position, are often deprived of the opportunity to fully participate in the public life. Withdrawal and social, cultural, political or economic marginalisation promote the occurrence of the conviction among seniors that they are socially useless. The fact of population ageing in the countries of the Visegrád Group includes in social and cultural activity of seniors and has a media and social picture of those people. [...] 

The social and cultural change demands a new functioning of the place, roles and tasks of elderly people in the world. This idea was basic for the scientists in the Visegrád Group countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia). Researchers from the Visegrád Group countries, having common social, historical, economic and cultural experience, have embarked on a joint effort to recognise how the elderly are perceived in the social and the media space and within the context of different areas of functioning. […]

The Authors invited to cooperate, very thoroughly, in a way perfectly embedded in the literature of the subject, reveal to the Reader areas, contexts, conditions and consequences of positive and negative aspects of old age functioning in social and media circulation. Undertaken research open new and cognitively valuable areas of theoretical analyses and show the vast area of empirical studies. The theoretical considerations supported by empirical research confirm the importance of the raised issues and their relevance.

Prof. Dr. Remigijus Bubnys
Šiauliai University, Lithuania