Why this exhibition? Why now?
“Programmed to Age” is a digital exhibition that invites you to pause, scroll, and reflect:
How are older adults represented on social media?
Who gets seen, and who is filtered out?
This project was born from a simple yet urgent question:
What happens when aging meets the algorithm?
In the age of personalized feeds, aging is no longer just a biological process or cultural identity—it becomes a curated, clickable, and often commodified image. Social media platforms, especially visual-driven ones like Xiaohongshu (RED), increasingly shape how older adults are portrayed, imagined, and even how they see themselves.
Academic Background
“How Aging is Represented and Experienced on Xiaohongshu: A Study of Elderly Visibility and Platform Culture.”
Using a qualitative approach that combined:
- Textual analysis of 25 Xiaohongshu posts featuring or targeting older adults;
The research explored how:
- Platforms construct templates of “ideal aging” (e.g., youthful, stylish, tech-savvy);
- Algorithms reinforce narrow representations of older adults;
- Real users navigate, resist, or adapt to these digital norms.
Why a Digital Exhibition?
Research shouldn’t stay locked in academic journals.
This exhibition turns findings into an interactive reflection space for everyone—researchers, designers, media users, and especially those who may one day become the subject of these digital narratives: all of us.
Through visual storytelling, algorithm simulations, and real user voices,
“Programmed to Age” encourages you to ask:
What do we expect from older people online?
What stories are we not seeing?
How do platforms guide our imagination—without us noticing?
Ready to see aging from a different perspective?
Programmed to Age 