The image of the elder generation in the digital discourse on family in Russia

Abstract

The article analyzes representations of grandmothers’ and grandfathers’ images in the digital family discourse of the Russian social media segment. Based on a corpus of more than two million public posts from September 2023 to September 2024 collected via Brand Analytics, we extracted a subcorpus of 82 138 posts mentioning the older generation. The study employs automated topic modeling (Latent Dirichlet Allocation, LDA), descriptive statistics (frequencies and proportions of topics and coded categories), content analysis (manual coding), and qualitative interpretation with expert validation. The findings show that online discussions are dominated by a traditional model: the grandmother is associated with care, domestic comfort, and the preservation of family memory, while the grandfather is linked to experience, a historical role, and episodic participation in everyday life. Alternative images of active and digitally engaged older adults appear, but remain marginal and are often stabilized through cultural clichés. Negative storylines are rare and typically relate to intergenerational expectation conflicts, the division of childcare responsibilities, and boundaries on elders’ influence over parental decisions. We identify gender differences in roles and in the evaluative (emotional) tone of mentions (manual coding) regarding grandmothers and grandfathers. The results refine the ambivalence of representations of the older generation and demonstrate the inertia of family archetypes online. Practically, the conclusions can inform communication strategies and social initiatives aimed at strengthening intergenerational ties, preventing ageism, and promoting active aging programs. Further steps include analyzing the self-presentations of older users, conducting cross-cultural comparisons, and tracking the dynamics of these images in connection with changes in family policy and demography.

Acknowledgements: The article was prepared at the National Research University Higher School of Economics as part of a government- funded research project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project No. FI-2025-83 «Modern Technologies of Socio-Political Communication»).