Communicating Challenges of COVID-19 to the Ageing Population

Raycheva, L.

The worldwide spread of COVID-19 provoked a number of economic, societal and communication challenges to all people, and especially – to the ageing population. These challenges determine the special attention to possible threats to the digital generation divide. These threats become even more important during the pandemic of COVID-19, when virtual communication is becoming increasingly significant in everyday life. Bulgaria’s authorities have responded quickly to the health emergency. Dealing with the pandemic in medical, economic, and social terms posed serious challenges to the institutions and the population in the country. That is why it is significant, using mixed research methods, to study the media responsiveness to the restrictions of societal life, as well as some of the effects of virtual communication on the ageing population during the social isolation. The study was conducted during the state of national emergency (13.03.-13.05.2020). The results were indicative for policy makers, media professionals and older people. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.