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Older female influencers are using social media to challenge long-held assumptions about women and aging, according to new research from Durham University Business School.

The study, involving professor Benedetta Cappellini alongside researchers from Aalborg University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Reading, examines gendered ageism through the experiences of older women themselves. The paper is published in the journal Sociology.

Previous research has often focused on society's expectations of older women, including how they should look, dress and behave.

These stereotypes can devalue older women in both the workplace and wider society.

The researchers interviewed European female influencers aged 50 and over who were active on Instagram and had more than 1,000 followers.

They explored how the women presented aging online, including the content they shared, the brands they worked with, how they presented their bodies and how they responded to negative feedback.

The findings showed that turning 50 could bring greater freedom, including more time to invest in themselves as work or family responsibilities changed.

However, participants also described feeling increasingly invisible or undervalued as they grew older.

One influencer compared the decline in interest from brands after she turned 50 to "lemmings falling off a cliff."

Instagram provided a way for the women to counter this experience by increasing the visibility of older women and presenting aging in a confident and optimistic way.

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