“Remember this picture when you take more than you need”: Constructing morality through instrumental ageism in COVID-19 memes on social media

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, a parallel pandemic of ageism is spreading through social media. This paper argues that COVID-19 health securitisation logic and the urgent need to disseminate public health information have allowed nuanced forms of ageism to be reproduced in online forums. I use a critical discourse analysis and social semiotic analysis to deconstruct the use of ageist representations of older adults in COVID-19 memes, which have been organised into four illustrative categories. The analysis attends to ageist representations that both reinforce stereotypical messages and exacerbate intergenerational tensions. Drawing upon moral anthropology, I propose that the memes employ “instrumental ageism,” a nuanced form of ageism that advances the health securitisation agenda during the pandemic. The paper concludes with a recognition of the impact of ageist pandemic memes on intergenerational tensions and a call for attention to nuanced forms of ageism in our online and offline social worlds.