The “Angry (Digital) Silver” in South Korea: The Rhetoric Around Older Adults’ Digital Media Literacy

Abstract

Abstract Naïve yet threatening is how the South Korean news media have characterized some older adults who have taken to social media to air their political views. Labeled as “angry (digital) silver,” these older adults using YouTube and other social media platforms for political activity are portrayed as digitally illiterate and aggressive. This paper examines the rhetoric surrounding older adults’ digital media literacy in scholarship and popular news media with a focus on the news media’s portrayal of older adults’ digital political activity. By analyzing the use of language and various rhetorical strategies, I argue that specific rhetoric of caution, which warns against older adults’ so-called lower digital media literacy, is used to invalidate their digital political activity. I draw upon the case of the “Taegukgi squad”—a political group mainly composed of older adults in South Korea—and the evolution of their digital presence. Addressing the media’s biased portrayal of older adults’ digital media literacy, this paper further invites reflection on controversies around the role of age in digital political activities around the globe.