A Qualitative Analysis of Turkish X Posts About Late Adulthood: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This study aimed to qualitatively examine Turkish X posts related to late adulthood. An interpretative phenomenological design was employed. Among 23,124 public posts shared between January 1 and 30, 2025, the top 1% most-engaged posts (n = 528) were selected using criterion sampling. Data were collected via the Tweepy library, and analysis was conducted using MAXQDA 20.0 in line with Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis steps. The narratives about late adulthood in Turkish X posts were categorized under two main themes: “Stigmatization” and “Positive Representations of Active Aging.” The stigmatization theme reflected age as a state of physical, cognitive, and social decline, materialized in subthemes such as micro ageism, intergenerational conflict, exclusion, and dependency. On the other hand, a portion of the posts portrayed late adulthood positively, highlighting aspects like wisdom, spiritual value, and social contribution. The findings revealed that social media discourse on aging is predominantly shaped by negative and reductive stereotypes. However, a limited number of posts reflected more positive and multidimensional representations. This suggests that social media functions both as a space that reproduces ageist narratives and as a platform with potential to promote positive perceptions of aging. To increase favorable representations of aging, digital awareness campaigns should be organized through collaboration between public institutions and civil society organizations.