The Elderly : Old People

Putting distance between oneself and aging thus alleviates the fear of dying (Encyclopedia of Aging, 2002). In some countries previously named a lot of the elder are held on a pedestal. The see old age as a good thing and they look to their elders for wisdom. American culture though, seems to have lost this perspective. Ageism has become ingrained in American culture as it is passed on to children from parents who hold ageist stereotypes. The same ageist myths and misconceptions that are held by adults are also held by teens and children. Americans make jokes and comments about growing old that perpetuate negative stereotypes about aging and older persons. The lexicon is replete with ageist terms that portray older people in a negative light, such as “old fogey,” “old fart,” “geezer,” and “old goat” (Encyclopedia of Aging, 2002). Greeting-card and novelty companies call them “Over the Hill” products: the 50th Birthday Coffin Gift Boxes featuring prune juice and anti-aging soap; the “Old Coot” and “Old Biddy” bobble head dolls; the birthday cards mocking the mobility, intellect and sex drive of the no-longer-young. Many Americans chuckle at such humor. Others see it as offensive, as one more sign of pervasive ageism in America (Associated Press, 2004).

Ageism against the elderly has become a powerful form of social oppression all throughout societies and especially in the workplace. Elders are faced with negative stereotypes, judgments, and multiple forms of abuse all because of their age and appearance. Younger

Ageism and stereotypes of older people can have an important impact on their physical health, mental health and overall wellbeing. Negative stereotypes of older people being dependent and decrepit can be internalized and become self-fulfilling. These ageist thoughts and stereotypes can lead to older people not seeking health care in general and to not get treatment appropriate for their illness or medical condition due to their age and not based on any other factor.

For instance , growth and development, beauty, good health, happiness are more likely to be listed as characteristics of being under sixty five years, whereas decline health, loneliness undesired physical appearance are likely to be listed for person’s over sixty five years. According to the Centre of Confidence and well being (n.d) reports stereotypes of the elderly as being needy,

Many sociologists believe that, like childhood, the age status is socially constructed. Many discussions about old age are negative and stereotypical, therefore it is constructed as a problem. People have different critical stereotypes of elderly people, they see them as, slow, old fashioned, complaining all the time and many other traditional stereotypes. An example of this would be the Griffiths Report. This report claimed that the care of the elderly was pushing society to facing the problem of meeting the growing costs that health and social care needs in order to help the growing number of elderly people. There has also been a recent fear of the ‘pension time bomb’ this has also caused some negative attitudes and concerns that the ageing population creates a

The aging population is the fastest growing population in our nation. By the year 2030, it is estimated that approximately 61 million people will be between the ages 65 -85 and 9 million individuals will be ages 85 and older (Ouchida &Lachs, 2015). Perceptions of the elderly have slightly changed for the better in recent years, but biases and discrimination are still very widespread in our society today. “Ageism” is a phrase coined by Robert Butler in 1969 and implies a preconception, prejudice, and discrimination against older adults and can come in many forms.

Ageism is described by "Ageism in America is Hurting Us All, a webpage about senior living, as “a prejudice against older people” ("Ageism in America is Hurting Us All). Provided by the same source, it is explained that “according [to] the World Health Organization, ageism is most rampant in high-income countries, like the United States” ("Ageism in America is Hurting Us All). According to "Ageism in America is Hurting Us All, they found, in a study, that 70% of older Americans concur they had been insulted or mistreated, because of their age. Furthermore, American Society on Ageing, a website giving knowledge about older adults, reported “the term ‘ageism’ was coined in 1969 by Robert N. Butler, M.D., [at the time was a 42-year-old psychiatrist]”

Today, there are more senior citizens living in the United States than previous generations. As the baby boomers continue to grow older, millions of Americans are now over the age of 65. According to the research, there are over "75 million Baby Boomers who are on the verge of retirement" (Bernard, 2012). This is dramatically changing the nature of American society, and increasing the number of elderly which need care today, and will soon need care in the near future. Yet, what is often not discussed when looking at America's retirees and elderly is the environment in which many are retreating into. Ageism is a common cause of prejudice among the older generations (Quinn & Tomita 1997). A lot of abuse and neglect cases stem from an image of a burdensome elderly individual. Ageism is a major problem here in the United States, and it is partly responsible for setting the

Ageism is becoming a major problem. The elderly population is predicted to double in the next eight years, having the effect of older people in the workforce, medical patients, and community members. This causes younger people to be around older people more often causing them to make generalizations. There has been an increased effort to stop age discrimination. Ageing is a natural occurring thing so most people in their lives will be affected by ageism. For one to fully understand ageism, one must know the definition, stereotypes, and the effect of those stereotypes.

Ageism has been defined as a type of discrimination that has a prejudice against an individual based on their age (Cherry, 2015). This was first used by Robert Butler, a gerontologist, who published back in 1969 the article that stated that ageism was a “serious national problem” (Levy; Macdonald, 2016). Mr. Butler was trying to help other understand and describe the stereotype and discrimination against the elder generation, and to show that ageism was as big of an issue compared to racism and sexism (Brownell, 2014). Since the establishment of Ageism, the growing work force of aged

The longevity of life is only increasing in the United States. Today one in eight Americans are aged 65 or older (Hawkins, Hoffman, Mockenhaupt, Ory & Sanner, 2003). With more and more people beginning to live lives well into their 80s we are starting to see an increase in ageism, or the discrimination against people because they are old. Ageism is where you see a lot of the stereotypes about the elderly

The primary aim of ‘Challenging Aging Stereotypes; Strategies for Creating a More active Society’ is to inform its readers, young and old, about the detrimental effects of negative stereotypes about the elderly, as well as

As society progresses, prejudices pertaining to ageism arise on multiply fronts, which stems from simply an ignorant societal state of mind. This is especially turn when it comes to younger generation. When looking at prejudices of older adults it often comes down to assumptive limitations that given to an older age group and they become seen as a burden to society, which is

We see this in Mulan and Up, these films that I pick off the top of my head. Seefeldt (1984) believes."Many people come to perceive older adults as less helpful all of the dissipating in the same kinds of activities at they do. While examining this issue. Found that people dreaded the thought of becoming old because older people were, out of their minds, seen as uglier, dirtier less helpful and less healthy than younger people. People see younger adults as more fun, nicer looking, more physically and preferred over adults." By this we can see that the older generation is treated with lower respect. The older generation used to be known for their wisdom and, knowledge but now that good stereotype has vanished and, returned as a virus that is continuously spreading disapproval and, pity for the elderly even Bishop and, Krause (1986)said, "codes were instructed in how to identify older characters and the code for mental and physical characteristics. An older character was identified by using one or more of the following subject criteria; an appearance of retirement, extensive grey hair , wrinkles of the skin, extensive loss of hair or balding, cracking voice, use of an aid such as a cane or wheelchair, the parent of a son or daughter who is middle aged or older, evidence of grandchildren or great-grandchildren." These remarks make everyone believe that the elderly are

Society as whole has many false beliefs and preconceived notions about the aging population. I myself have harboured dozens of them throughout my lifetime. However, there are a select few that have stood the test of time as they continue to guide my attitudes towards the elderly. Though one of the oldest stereotypes in the book, I unfortunately see the elderly as being a generally unhappy (grumpy) group. I rationalize to myself that they are this way due to deteriorating health, and also because they are generally unpleased with where life has taken them. I also feel that as a result, many elderly tend to disengage themselves from society, preferring to live quiet lives in solitude. And due to their self-imposed exiles from the judging eyes of the world, they take little pride in their aesthetic appearance. So in an endeavor to examine the impact of my perceived beliefs about others, I interviewed my mother to verify whether or not my currently held beliefs carried any weight.