Ageism: The Misunderstood Concept Of Aging Culture

Introduction: People treat and view the elderly members of society in alternate ways depending on the culture they are from and have grown up in; this is shown in Western and Eastern society who regard the elderly very differently. The way children are brought up to perceive the elderly can have a large impact on the way they treat elderly people when the children grow into teenagers and adults, both in everyday situations and in care homes. I shall be discussing how the Western culture views the elderly and how this affects the care they receive by exploring the stereotypical view of how the UK treats their elderly people which involve stories of abuse that takes place in care homes that have been revealed by elderly victim’s families. However I shall also focus on elderly people of a Western culture that receive a very high quality of care by being given above and beyond the minimum standard of care, attention and respect expected in an elderly care home which, for example, can be seen in Hayling Island care home which has been labelled as the best in the UK. I will be talking about another European country, France, who have dramatically improved their treatment and care of the elderly following a heat wave in 2003 and the statistics that say France has the highest elderly suicide rate in Europe.

Day to day, people face all sorts of discrimination in the world. One form of discrimination a person may encounter is ageism. Ageism is defined as prejudice against a certain age group. Whether that a young age such as teenagers, or an older age such as senior citizens. Ageism is everywhere. In the media of today’s world and in jobs.

Ageism is any attitudes, actions, or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of their age or any assignment of roles in society purely on the basis of age. It typically reflects a prejudice in society against older adults. The concept of aging varies across different cultures as different countries have varying demographic statistics such as Japan and Italy having significant part of their population above the age of 60 versus most countries in Africa who have significant parts of their population below the age of 30. Most research on ageism is done on children, adolescents, or young adults with few studies on actual older adults. Age is increasingly becoming a more positive concept, yet older people are still stereotyped. The three theories in sociology about aging are disengagement, activity, and continuity.

Ageism can affect both the youth and the elderly, but in today’s times it is mainly focused on the elderly. The elderly are constantly harassed, judged, and stereotyped for their age. The elderly are viewed as disabled, has-beens, and basically serve no propose, instead of being viewed as wise, bold, experienced, and valuable. In the article “Putting The

A new culture of ageism is now in the medical world. So many Canadians look down on seniors that ageism has become the most tolerated form of social discrimination in Canada. Health care professionals like Nathan Stall, a future geriatrics specialist and Carrie Willkies, a registered nurse are both against this new norm. In both pieces, the central idea is clear, “The Eradication of Ageism in health care”.

Ageism simply means and is presumed that older adults are frail, weak, and disabled permeates society. This label cares negative stereotypes, such as discrimination and prejudices. Ageism exists in the workplace, certain cultures, and social classes and within health care.

ll he said was that he is open to let people know he’s in it in case someone needs more information. Upon studying his answers to the psychological side of his life we discussed his involvement in a 12 step program. We came to an agreement that this program was a great resource that he has taken advantage of to improve his life for the better. We proceeded to ask him if he ever felt discriminated because of his age. The look on his face changed to sad. He said he was never discriminated personally to his face but he felt like some of his students wish he would retire. He continued to add that he has read on online sites students saying negative things about him. After reviewing his response to ageism we came to an agreement that the best way

Ageism is a popular and important topic to discuss as it represents a great issue in today’s society. The article “Ageism in America” focuses on the biases and stereotyping of older people here in America. The elderly is highly discriminated against and we tend to not realize this enough. Ageism is an ever growing concern in the United States and is an issue that needs to be resolved.

To begin with, ageism refers to discriminating and being prejudice of senior citizens (p.1), according to assisted living federation of America (2013). Therefore, Anderson (2013) stated, “some younger people perceive anyone with wrinkled skin or gray hair as old” (pg.1) thus, the issues of ageist stereotypes are associated with the process of aging. Consequently, while discussing with family and friends about the mounting baby boomer populace, there are various respectable and dire descriptions of aging and the elderly. An unpleasant reflection of aging would be calling them old, fragile, socially isolated, and supplementary forgetful. On the other hand, the fine descriptions of older adults would be being more conversant, becoming of additional

The article was discussing the issues of ageism mainly in the work force. It talks about how the baby boomers are have a hard time getting hired because of their age. In a weak economy, some companies are sometimes all too happy to get rid of veteran employees, with their higher health care costs and legacy pensions, for younger ones who expect neither. The article talked about Margery Leveen Sher, a 68, former corporate consultant and nonprofit executive in the district, kept her age a secret when starting her nonprofit business because of her age. She thought that they would think she would want to retire soon, but that wasn’t

Ageism is the discrimination against an individual or group due to age. While ageism is a real problem, many people tend to ignore it because it is so often practiced, people don’t even realize it is happening. The forms of ageism range from the very obvious to the more discrete, almost unrecognizable discrimination. While ageism is evident in all age groups, it tends to be more dominant among the elderly and teenagers or young adults.

Some cultures have a different belief on how to care for the elderly. Immigrants are more likely to live in three-generation families. They have a strong belief about not leaving elderly in nursing home. Older people may feel lonely and ashamed because they are away from the family and community because elderly are traditionally cared for in the family. Elderly immigrants living and aging in Canada face some challenges. The major one is language barriers, not able to access economic support like a pension, disappearance of a traditional social network (Zhou, 2012). So, they will be more dependent on their children or family members.

Ageism is defined as prejudice based on age, and is made up of two core elements, stereotyping and discrimination. Stereotyping consists of attributing a simplistic idea or characteristic to an entire group, such as the belief that older people are forgetful. Discrimination occurs when people act on these stereotypes, for example, refusing to hire an older person because of the belief that they are forgetful. While ageism can affect people of all ages, it is generally considered to refer to prejudice against older adults. Ageism has a negative impact on society, leading to decreased economic strength and placing a burden on the health care system.

How we view the older people of your society in America is unique. The thought of changing our current lives and aging frightens us. We fear getting old, from face-lifts and tummy

Throughout many cultures, many regard the elderly as a figure of wisdom and knowledge, but as the American society continues to develop, the elderly today is perceived differently. When a person thinks about aging, the first thing that comes to mind is the decline of health, nursing homes, and death, but many don’t think of the positive aspects of aging. As the world continues to develop, what was once considered a virtue and a gift, aging is now a burden and a lurid thought in the back of everyone’s mind. Ageism is defined as the practice of discrimination based upon a person's age (Nemmers, 2005). Though ageist stereotypes exist in many forms, the elderly is specifically targeted because of false assumptions made by society. The constant development of this nation has caused many to stereotype the elderly in both positive and negative ways. The article Ageism: The Strange case of Prejudice sheds light on the growing issue of prejudice against the elderly. The article states, “Anytime one assumes that a group shares common behavioral or personality characteristics, they are engaging in stereotyping” (Nelson, 2010). Many people in America today take part in the stereotyping of the elderly; whether calling every old person slow or difficult to manage. By doing so, society is condoning this behavior and supporting the stereotyping of the elderly. Since the elderly is constantly perceived as something that they are not, they face endless prejudice from every walk of life.