Why Is Aging Important?

The humanity of aging is a concept sometimes hard to grasp. Understanding why we are

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

Knowing and having an understanding of what ageing stands for, remains an important step, growing-up or growing older and ageism are theories about older individuals. Ageism includes preconceptions that elderly are categorized for their age and perceived as weak, and incapable of performing tasks and needy of others (Quadagno, 2014). Another view about elderly individuals is the way they are looked down on by the younger society, i.e. elderly are not as intelligent as their younger competitive working force. People fear what they do not know and do not understand. Age transpires as something that must be lived through in order to understand what ageing means; looking back on one’s life and seeing accomplishments made,

At age eighteen is when a person is considered an adult and they get privileges and responsibilities when they come of age. They have more freedom because they’re not living under their parents rule. However, they must get a job and find their own place to call home. They have the privilege to vote. In result of this, you must serve jury duty if asked to. Also, you have to sign up to be drafted for the military because it’s your duty to the country. In addition, you must pay bills. This includes water, gas, electricity, house rent, and possibly college fees. Therefore, when you become an adult you get responsibilities and privileges.

Aging is a part of our life that the majority of us do not want, but it will happen regardless of what we do. When we are a little kid, all we want to do is grow up and be a big kid. When we become older we realize that wish we never said that, and seem to wish that we could go back in time. We always miss when we were younger, when we could be childish, do stupid things, and people would not think us to be weird. Then, they thought it was adorable, seeing a little kid doing stupid and funny things. Being a kid gives a sense of freedom; we have no burden thinking about school grades, or if we are going to pass the class. On the other hand, as a college student, there are so many things to do such as assignments, homework, quizzes, exams, and maintaining grades, but as we get older we become more responsible. Aging is inevitable and all that matters is what will we do with that time. If we waste it then we will not be happy with how our life turned out and we will keep saying, “wish we could go back”. In Mitch Albom’s biography, Tuesday with Morrie, Morrie Schwartz had a better perspective on aging and embracing his age: "It’s very simple. As you grow, you learn more… Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth” (Albom 118); certainly, popular culture tends to fear aging and even avoid the concept altogether, as indicated by Schwartz’s protégé, Mitch, who side-stepped his own age the closer he came to “forty,” for fear of “professional oblivion” (Albom 117). Those who wish

Ory and her colleagues then introduce the topic of aging and stereotypes to their readers. They discuss the different types of ageism and compare ageism to sexism and racism. The stereotypes about older people being useless, crazy, or sick are discussed more and refuted in the Macarthur Foundation Study on Successful Aging, Rowe and Kahn. The pair discusses 6 myths of aging, which range from the elderly constantly being sick, learning impaired, to having a dull sex life. The pair then discusses the reality of the previously listed myths. Contrary to the “To be old is to be sick” myth, Rowe and Khan explain that the elderly are able to function and complete everyday tasks until they are very old (Ory, 165). They then explain how it is, in fact possible to “Teach an old dog new tricks” because the human brain never stops learning, this myth goes hand in hand with “The horse is out of the barn” myth, which also explains how the elderly can learn and adopt new behaviors easily. Myth number 4 “The secret to successful aging is to choose your parents wisely” is one of the most ridiculous. Rowe and Kahn explain that a person’s health is not all determined by genetics. Although genetics has a part in determining a person’s characteristics, a person can change their characteristics through the use of epigenetics, by adopting healthy lifestyles and behaviors. Rowe and Kahn they go on to explain sexual functioning through the myth “The lights may be on, but the

In the past one hundred years, the human life expectancy has increased by thirty years. This trend continues to rise (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2018). As a direct result, the amount of elderly people in our society will also rise. At first glance, this may seem like a positive growth in our society. However, when taking a second look, you come to realize that with such a positive trend comes a negative trend: the growth of ageism.

The main discussion of the article focuses on the topic of whether aging is a

Forensic science is the application of scientific analysis to tangible objects related to criminal activity. As science expands in its research, it is applied to the forensics field. Among the most prevalent is biotechnology. Biotechnology was developed by the manipulation of biological elements and remains closely tied to society and it needs. Although many of the advances and discoveries are used to produce goods as foods, and medications many of the innovations benefit forensic science as well. The biggest contribution being DNA analysis, providing additional and conclusive information on biological evidence sources, but with the use of DNA analysis comes social and ethical issues in society because of the amount of information obtained in a sample.

As aging is a stage of development that cannot prevented, the question of “can one’s aging be more successful than another?” is posed my many. Researchers continually consider the differences between aging successfully, and aging unsuccessfully. As researchers work to complete their studies, many find a reoccurring basis of successful aging. A basis of successful aging can be set including: physical health disease free, chronic illness free, mental health disease free, among many others. The only problem with this basis is the difference from person to person in terms of what makes aging successful. As individuals age, their mental state is a large predictor of how the person will age. A positive mental state about aging, will have a more positive effect on a person’s aging process. Many factors may influence the positivity of aging, such as negative aging stereotypes and discrimination because of older age. These negative aging stereotypes include but are not limited to: older adults are not as smart, older adults are angry all the time, older adults are bad drivers, older adults are isolated and never socialize. In adult aging and development, having a positive outlook on aging will lead to better mental and physical aging.

Growth and development is an essential part of the life cycle, which leads to the occurrence of different phases like childhood, teenage and late adulthood. Aging is the period which is characterized by the onset of personal, cognitive and social changes. They feel hard to adjust the changes. Like rest of the world, the US also falls in the list of countries which have the highest population of elderly people. According to the Population Reference Bureau report, Americans ages 65 and older has projected to increase more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group’s share of the total population will rise to nearly 24 percent from 15 percent (Mark Mather). The

Successful aging can be defined in many different ways. Throughout the semester we have talked about many different aspects of aging that help define the success within the process. We have discussed the neurosciences of aging, the physical changes associated with aging, the longevity and intelligence of individuals in relation to their life and abilities while aging, how relationships and work can change as one ages, and how aging affects ones personality. After reading Childhood Misfortune as a Threat to Successful Aging: Avoiding Disease and Successful Aging and Well-Being: Self-Rated Compared With Rowe and Kahn, I have a better understanding of the objective and subjective view of aging in relation to childhood factors.

Our community and world is forever changing. Through the years our classrooms are looking more and more different. There isn’t just one type of student anymore. There isn’t one race or type of culture per a classroom. Educators especially in urban areas are faced with multiple cultures and races within their classroom.

Gerontology as a field of scientific study can be traced back to the late 1800s; a time when research primarily focused on the negative attributes of aging, such as health decline. It wasn 't until the introduction of social gerontology in 1983 that researchers began to more rigorously study the psychological and social aspects of aging. In recognizing that “successful aging depends not just on the prevention of disease and disability, but also on the attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning,” (Quadagno,

As of 2010, thirty-four States have some form of Death Penalty, while twelve States plus the District of Columbia have no Death Penalty. The number of Death Penalty executions from 1977 2010 by color-coded States follows: