Television and Thai Elderly Society in the Digital Television Era

Abstract

        Thailand has entered an aging society for more than 10 years. As a result, Thai society has to prepare for this matter. Especially in media for the elderly to support them to gaining knowledge, news and information in many areas relates to lives in everyday life. A survey of various research studies and academic works has found that the majority of the elderly are most exposed to television media. They need to receive contents on: (1) health, prevention, care and nursing to accept physical condition as their age; (2) knowledge, abilities, and wisdom of the elderly to enhance self-worth, live with confidence and transmitting their own experiences and knowledge; (3) religion, doctrine and attachment to family to make the mind calm, have a good attitude towards life and socialize well; (4) society, community and innovation technology to prevent cheated or deceived and have topic to talk about with others; and (5) economy about saving, investing and having a career for manage their family's finances. But a survey of the television media situation over the past ten years reveals that since the first broadcast of digital television stations in Thailand in April 2014 until the present, there have been 11 programs for the elderly. This is a small amount when compared to programs produced for other target audiences, and the content does not adequately respond to the needs of the elderly. Therefore, media producers should clearly understand the needs and behavior of the elderly and focus on designing content and producing programs for them.