Initiated in 2024, the project “Aging in/from the Interior: Media Consumption and Self-Perception of Old Age” aims to investigate how and in what ways the media consumption by elderly people in their daily lives has been influencing their self-perceptions of old age and, consequently, the ways these people experience aging. Aligned with the concepts and values of Integral Human Development (IHD), the ongoing research looks at older individuals, seeking to recognize their voice and political agency through a quantitative and qualitative approach that acknowledges the social production of meaning of the content produced and disseminated in/by the media from their audiences. In this particular case, the audience consists of elderly people residing in the municipality of Covilhã, a geographically and economically distant area from Portugal's urban centers of reference. Through the lens of IHD, this project aims to contribute to rethinking media representations of aging and old age, bringing positive impacts on self-perceptions and experiences in old age.

Biography:

Elizângela Carvalho Noronha holds a degree in Social Communication – Journalism from the Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) and a master's degree in Language Studies from the same institution. She completed her PhD in Communication Sciences at the University of Coimbra in 2023 and, since February 2024, has been a postdoctoral researcher in the Integral Human Development Program at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Her research interests are related to the study of media audiences and their connections to gender studies from an intersectional perspective, especially concerning aging.