The Role of Humour in Shaping Discourse about Ageing - a Qualitative Analysis of Tiktok Videos Created By Older Adults

Humour in our life has its various functions and can derive from various topics. We might associate humour with laughter that we deem as positive, jokes and humour are not predominantly positive. Another topic that we are interested in, ageing is usually seen as negative, as generally the social, economic and personal burdens are highlighted when talked about the topic.

This presentation examines how TikTokers above the age of sixty in Hungary seek to refine representations of ageing online through humorous short videos. Platforms, such as TikTok, are usually associated with the younger generations; however, it is important to note that older adults' online presence also contributes to online discourse construction, making research such as this one essential. This presentation aims to interpret the age-related humorous content created by older adults through classical humour perspectives, i.e. Relief, Incongruity and Superiority Theories, and to analyse them according to their sources of humour, highlighting the more positive tones of the humour about ageing. Visual Video and Audio Analyses and Discourse Analyses were used for these purposes.

The following topics emerged as sources of humour: chronological age, ageist stereotypes, use of technology, bonding humour between generations. While the first three categories could be interpreted through one or more classical theories, bonding humour could not. Although bonding humour can be described as typically positive, the three other categories also offered light-hearted and joyous moments too. This topic and the analysis offer the questioning of the negative interpretation of ageing.