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New AARP Research Shows Positive Shift in Online Images of Older Adults, While Highlighting Need for Further Improvement

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An Analysis Comparing Images From 2018 to 2023 Reveals the Strengths and Limitations in How Aging Is Portrayed in Media and Marketing

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A new AARP study reveals a positive shift over the past five years in how adults 50-plus are portrayed online. Overall, negative sentiment in online media and marketing images dropped from 28% in 2018 to just 10% in 2023.

The 50-plus population is pictured as more active and independent, less fearful, and more likely to use technology, reflecting a growing recognition of older adults’ active lifestyles and valuable engagement in society.

At the same time, challenges remain. Images of adults age 50-plus in the workplace remained unrealistically rare, while depictions of this age group spending time with family actually fell over the past five years.

“At AARP, we have been leading the fight to combat ageism in marketing and media imagery, and it looks like the creative industry is starting to really listen,” said AARP Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Martha Boudreau. “As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. In the age of social media, and with the ubiquity of advertising across people’s daily lives, this is more true than ever. The images we see shape what we think and can even influence how we act towards one another. Progress has been made in improving how 50-plus adults are portrayed but we still have a lot of work to do. Studies like these point the way forward and give us a solid roadmap for how to continue to make things better.”

The study analyzed a random sample of over 1,000 online images and 500 videos featuring adults 50-plus from brands and thought leaders posted on news sites and social media with at least two million followers or readers. Political content was excluded.

Positive improvements include:

Aging is more active than before: The portrayal has moved from fear-based, with an emphasis on financial and medical themes, to active and healthy lifestyles. With 26% of people 50-plus shown in images as physically active, up from 15% in 2018, the narrative around aging is shifting from decline to vitality.Tech users of every age: The research shows a dramatic increase in depictions of adults 50-plus using technology. In 2023, 33% of images showed people 50-plus with tech devices, up from a mere 4% in 2018. This shift better reflects this age cohort, challenging outdated stereotypes and highlighting the reality of digital engagement.Aging in place: Nearly 80% of adults 50-plus want to remain in their communities and homes as they age, and this trend has been more prominently reflected in media in recent years, with 73% of static images showing people at home vs. 39% in 2018. Just 8% of static images showed people in a retirement community compared to 15% in 2018. It’s a sign that retirement centers are less likely to be the visual shorthand for aging, with images elevating independence over medical worries or reliance on assistance.

Opportunities for further improvement include:

Older adults in the workplace: Despite making up over one-third of the workforce, only 14% of images show adults 50-plus at work, virtually unchanged from 13% in 2018. This underrepresentation misses both on what people 50-plus are adding to the economy and what long, satisfying careers are adding to their lives.Mobility challenges: AARP’s Media Landscape Review highlights a significant gap in representing mobility challenges among adults 50-plus. Only 1% of images show consumers with mobility aids, despite 12% of adults 50-plus regularly using a mobility device for assistance walking or navigating stairs. Multi-generational families: There was a significant decline compared to 2018 in people 50-plus shown in a family situation (17% to 9%) or with their grandchildren (13% to 6%), suggesting a major opportunity to more accurately reflect an important source of joy and meaning for many over 50. This shift suggests a need for the media to better represent important family roles and relationships, as these connections become more significant with age.

The research tracked still images and video content, with video proving to be more successful at showing adults 50-plus interacting with others, outside the home and using technology.

Learn more about this study at AARP.org/50plusmedia.

About AARP
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation’s largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about-aarp/, www.aarp.org/español or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspañol and @AARPadvocates on social media.

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SOURCE AARP

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ATTACK SHARK Unveils RS6 ULTRA, a Flagship Esports Mouse Featuring Its Proprietary Magnetic Hot-Swappable Battery Technology

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12 minutes ago

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July 22, 2026

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NEW YORK , July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Gaming peripheral brand ATTACK SHARK has announced the upcoming launch of the RS6 ULTRA, its most advanced wireless gaming mouse to date. Designed for competitive FPS players and the premium esports peripheral market, the new model combines a lightweight carbon fiber structure, flagship sensing technology, low-latency wireless performance, and a magnetic hot-swappable battery system.

The RS6 ULTRA’s magnetic hot-swappable battery system is designed to eliminate the compromises associated with conventional wireless gaming mice. Unlike integrated lithium battery designs that require wired charging and eventually suffer from battery aging, or conventional removable battery systems that depend on battery doors and latch mechanisms, the RS6 ULTRA features a proprietary magnetic alignment design with gold-plated contacts, enabling fast, tool-free battery replacement without disrupting wireless operation. Its dual-battery system further ensures uninterrupted gameplay by allowing one battery to power the mouse while the included 8K receiver simultaneously charges the spare, providing continuous wireless performance and a longer product lifecycle through easily replaceable batteries.

Another key feature is ATTACK SHARK’s patented adjustable sensor positioning system. Five mechanical adjustment positions allow players to customize sensor placement to suit hand size, grip style, and aiming preference. This personalized alignment is designed to support more consistent aiming and reduce tracking deviation during rapid movements.

The RS6 ULTRA is powered by a customized PixArt PAW3955MAX sensor and the latest Nordic nRF54L15 wireless MCU, delivering the performance demanded by today’s competitive FPS players. The sensor natively supports polling rates of up to 8,000Hz (8K), as well as 1-DPI incremental adjustment for precise sensitivity control. With up to 52,000 DPI, 850 IPS tracking speed, 75G acceleration, and five adjustable lift-off distance settings, it ensures exceptional tracking accuracy and responsiveness during rapid flick shots, precise target acquisition, and high-speed movement in fast-paced titles such as VALORANT, Counter-Strike 2, and Apex Legends.

Built on the Nordic nRF54L15 platform, the RS6 ULTRA delivers enhanced scanning performance, wireless stability, and power efficiency. At a 1,000Hz polling rate, it provides up to 800 hours of battery life, reducing charging interruptions during extended training and competition. The combination of stable wireless connectivity and long endurance allows players to stay focused on performance rather than power management.

Complementing the hardware, ATTACK SHARK’s proprietary wireless transmission technology delivers button latency of less than 0.168 milliseconds in 8K mode, helping ensure that every click is transmitted with exceptional speed and consistency. The shark fin-inspired 8K receiver features an extended antenna for improved signal strength, along with LED indicators for connection status, polling rate, and battery level. Together, these technologies make the RS6 ULTRA a wireless flagship solution for fast-paced competitive shooters, providing the responsiveness and reliability demanded by players of VALORANT, Counter-Strike 2, and Apex Legends.

The RS6 ULTRA features a carbon fiber hybrid injection-molded chassis with a ventilated hollow-shell design that balances low weight, structural strength, comfort, and heat dissipation during extended gaming sessions. A glass-like cooling surface treatment helps reduce discomfort caused by perspiration, while a CNC-machined metal scroll wheel and anodized components improve durability and wear resistance.

Built for serious FPS competitors and enthusiasts, the RS6 ULTRA delivers precision, responsiveness, customization, and endurance expected from a flagship esports mouse.

For more information, visit https://attackshark.com/ or connect with the brand on social media and Discord.

To place an order, visit ATTACK SHARK Amazon Store for the US, UK, Europe, AU, MX, SA and Japan.

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SOURCE ATTACK SHARK

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EnKash Introduces India’s First Meal Card with UPI Payments

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12 minutes ago

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July 22, 2026

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EnKash extends its UPI capabilities to meal card allowances, combining the convenience of UPI, the reach of RuPay, and tax-efficient employee benefits.

MUMBAI, India, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EnKash, India’s leading business payments and spend management platform, today announced the launch of UPI-based payments on its Meal Card. With this addition, employees can make payments directly from their meal card balance by scanning eligible UPI QR codes at food and grocery merchants.

This makes EnKash the first provider in India to enable UPI payments directly from a meal benefit balance.

The new capability extends the UPI infrastructure that EnKash already offers across its Prepaid Payment Instrument portfolio. It brings the familiarity and convenience of UPI to structured meal benefits, allowing employees to use their meal allowance through a payment method that has become a part of everyday life in India.

The timing is also significant. Under the revised Income-tax reforms, eligible meal benefits of up to ₹200 per meal are available under both the old and new tax regimes, subject to prescribed conditions. Employees can receive up to ₹1,05,600 annually as a tax-free meal benefit. For HR teams, this makes meal benefits more inclusive, valuable and easier to offer across the workforce.

The solution combines:

UPI-based scan-and-pay convenienceLargest acceptance infrastructure of RuPayMerchant category-based spending controlsPhysical and virtual meal cardsReal-time transaction visibilityCentralised card issuance, loading and management for employers

Employers can issue cards, load meal balances, set spending controls and track transactions through a centralised platform. Merchant category controls help ensure that the meal balance is used only for eligible expenses.

“Employee benefits should be as seamless as everyday payments. By bringing UPI to meal benefits, we’re enabling employees to pay the way they already do while helping employers deliver a simpler and more digital-first experience,” said Priya Sharma, Head of Product at EnKash.

“This launch brings together the power of RuPay, the familiarity of UPI and the tax efficiency of meal benefits. It also reflects the strength of the payments stack EnKash has already built across its PPI products.”

The UPI-enabled Meal Card is supported by EnKash’s existing payments and prepaid infrastructure. The company already provides UPI-based payment capabilities across its prepaid products and also offers businesses a wider payments suite covering prepaid cards, employee benefits, expense management, petty cash, corporate payments, payment gateway, and rewards.

About EnKash

EnKash is India’s first full-stack payments and spend management platform, empowering 5,000+ businesses to automate payments, expenses, and employee benefits. Holding PA, PPI, and Bharat Connect (BBPOU) licenses, EnKash offers a unified financial orchestration suite backed by $23M in funding. By partnering with leading banks and networks like NPCI and Visa, EnKash delivers secure, scalable solutions that make enterprise financial operations faster, smarter, and fully compliant.

For media inquiries, email: marketing@enkash.com

 

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SunTec India Launches Proprietary eCommerce Price Monitoring Platform Delivering 99%+ Accuracy with Human-Verified Pricing Intelligence

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12 minutes ago

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July 22, 2026

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NEW DELHI, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SunTec India today announced the launch of its proprietary, in-house-built eCommerce price monitoring platform, a purpose-built pricing intelligence solution that tracks competitor prices across multiple channels in real time and pairs automated data collection with human QA verification.

The platform supports pricing, sales, and marketplace teams by combining automated data collection, AI-powered product matching, anomaly detection, and analyst-led verification for quality assurance. It enables businesses to monitor competitor prices, promotional movements, Buy Box signals, and Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) violations across key marketplaces & retailer websites.

Unlike generic SaaS tools that hand back raw data for clients to clean and interpret, SunTec India controls its platform end-to-end, from data collection to matching rules, allowing continuous improvement based directly on client needs.

The platform’s core capabilities include:

Real-time, multi-channel monitoring across Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and other marketplaces, and custom URL tracking for any publicly accessible website.AI-powered product matching using EAN/GTIN identifiers for exact matches and ML models for comparable products, achieving 99%+ matching accuracy.MAP violation alerts delivered within agreed SLA windows, with violation logs formatted for legal, sales, and distributor review.Buy Box and dynamic repricing intelligence compatible with Repricer.com, Linnworks, ChannelAdvisor, and other major repricing platforms.Promotional and deal monitoring timed to peak events like Black Friday, Prime Day, and Q4, giving teams lead time to respond.

Built on a proprietary AI crawler, optimized for dynamic page rendering and anti-bot environments, the platform handles JavaScript-rendered pages and pricing overlays that defeat standard scrapers, while continuously learning from detection patterns to maintain collection reliability.

“Self-service tools give you a dashboard and leave the hard part to you,” said Mr. Ravi Kant, Vice President – eCommerce Division, SunTec India.

“What sets our platform apart is the human-in-the-loop layer. AI detects; our analysts verify. Every anomaly is reviewed by a QA analyst before it reaches the client. Our goal is to help clients identify pricing gaps, protect margins, track violations, and respond to competitor moves before they impact revenue,” he added.

About SunTec India

SunTec India is an IT and digital services company delivering technology-led, data-driven business solutions. Founded in 1999, the company has served 8,530+ clients across 50 countries, supported by 1,500+ full-time professionals and a 95%+ client retention rate. SunTec India combines human expertise with AI-enabled technologies to improve operational efficiency, strengthen competitiveness, and create long-term value for businesses worldwide.

Media Contact: 
Rohit
rohit@suntecindia.com  

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SOURCE SunTec India

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