Abstract:

Background and research goals

From the beginning of 2000’s, social scientists have been underlining how western countries – with particular reference to Anglo-Saxon’s ones - are currently characterised by concepts such as active ageing or positive ageing strictly connected with neo-liberal ideology. These concepts have been criticised because they focus on individual actions - suggesting strategies for maintaining physical health and cognitive functions, improving life satisfaction and social participation – and do not address social, economic and psychological factors that can bring the individual to have an “unsuccessful ageing”. Our work starts from two limitations found in the considered debate: it is mainly composed by theoretical reflections or by empirical studies that analyse a limited amount of data; previous studies have paid special attention to Anglo-Saxon countries, whereas the impact of neoliberal rhetorics on ageing in Mediterranean countries – in which the affirmation of neoliberal policies in healthcare is more recent - has been under-thematised. The presented research aims at addressing two research questions: i) To what extent does media coverage show that the management of frailty in elderly people is an individual matter? ii) To what extent does coronavirus supported or slowed down the diffusion of individualizing discourses?