OK, Boomer: Activating Intergroup Perceptions to Facilitate Intergenerational Contact in Social Media

Abstract

Individuals across social groups use social media every day. However, it remains unclear whether social media helps build relationships or reinforces prejudice across social groups. This study tests this issue by focusing on the effects of social cues (quantity, intensity, and salience) and anonymity within the context of intergenerational contact. An experiment exposed Generation Z participants (N = 241) to an older individual’s profile on a fictitious social medium, Bitmor. Participants imagined interacting with the older individual and then responded to a questionnaire that measured anonymity, intergroup perceptions, outgroup attraction, and ageism. Results indicated that the intensity of social cues about the social group increased younger individuals’ own intergroup perceptions, which influenced their attraction to the older generational group. Findings illustrate that cue intensity and imagined contact influence how individuals perceive others on social media and perhaps lower outgroup prejudice and increase interpersonal attraction across social groups.