Negative Stereotypes Of Late Adulthood

Ageism is a form of discrimination and prejudice against an age group, and is actually felt by seniors (Ageism, 2009). Ageism includes false stereotypes which is applied to the seniors, also changes ones way of how they treat elders. As an individual society has taught us want to categorize people into groups, which often leads to use making incorrect and negative stereotypes on one another. A professor had asked her students if they were excited about getting older, and they all answered “no way!” Their explanation was a list of stereotypes such as, sick, unhappy, sexually inactive, as well as being alone. Ageism has been a huge issue for many decades now about the prejudice and discrimination towards seniors.

Age stereotyping could happen with elderly patients in the hospital may not get the treatment depending on the illnesses they have. Some staff may not even give the treatment to the patient just because of their age. This is because the staff may assume that the patient is too old to be looked after in the hospital. And also no matter what the age of the elderly patient is they should be told about the treatment they are going to receive and the care.

The media often reinforces two extreme stereotypes of older adults. One extreme stereotype shows the negative aspects by highlighting that old age is plagued by illness and a high dependence on others. The other extreme stereotype highlights the seniors that are doing exceptionally well by showing that they are completely independent, finally stable, and maintained a youthful look and persona. These portrayals do not represent the life challenges and successes of the mass majority of aging adults. Older adults are rarely represented in the media, so how they are represented truly matters to their overall image and approach to aging. The Bucket list is an adventure, drama, and comedy movie, its plot followed two older men that were diagnosed with terminal cancer and given less than a year to live. The movie follows them on their series of trips around the world and their wish list of activities they wanted to do before they died.

In “Elder Liberation Draft Policy Statement” by Marge Larabee, she writes about the need to change society's views on older people, and dismantle the myth that the feelings and competence of older people are not similar to those of any age. Larabee attests the discrimination of older people to the “rapidly evolving technologies [which] have lessened the value of the knowledge and experience of older adults” (572). She writes

The process of aging in not an unfamiliar topic to society and is an inevitable phase of life. Since 2011, the number of older individuals are increasing annually particularly those from the baby boomer generation. The life expectancy has been increasing with people living longer thanks to modern medicine. These occurrences are proof that civilization is growing exponentially, however the process of aging also means that the older individuals are facing dilemmas such as decreased physical functions, financial instability from retirement, and abuse. Even older adults who are independent may face some limitations. To address these issues, Congress has passed several acts to decrease the number of elderly abuse and improve living conditions.

The result shows that 46 or 92% of the elderlies wished that they had more respect to themselves. Forty or 80% of them said that they sometimes pity themselves while 34 or 68% of them perceived that they have little or sometimes nothing to help their family and friends. In addition, 33 or 66% of elderlies said that they are not happy with their accomplishments in life while 32 or 64% of them perceived that they do not have capabilities and good qualities that they can be proud of and shared that they find it difficult to accept the changes happening in themselves at the present moment. Moreover, 28 or 56% of the elderlies shared that they often think and wish that they are in other people’s condition while half of them (50%) think and feel that they are useless. Further, despite of the adversities experienced in later life, 32 or 64% of elderlies didn’t think that they

I believe that the solutions are effective because a lot of people are not able to afford care services for their parents or grandparents although they wish to take care of seniors. Also, some people do not understand the importance of giving attention and listening to elderly’s views. This book parallels with the course objectives of our HSM 220, “Aging in America” class. We learned that aging population is growing rapidly, and there is a need to promote well-being for age-wise citizens in our society. The Age of Dignity book helps us understand the aging process and encourages us to appreciate the multi-disciplinary approach to health of the elderly. Moreover, the discussion in the book includes the social justice and ethical issues associated with care of elderly in the US such as low wage for workers, insecurity among undocumented workers, and lack of financial support for elderly

Chapter 13 was all about the elderly and their place in society. Gerontology is the study of elderly people and the hardships people are faced with once they start aging. More specifically Social gerontology is a subclass of Gerontology that specializes in in what changes a person makes in society once they start aging into the later years. Industrialization is believed to be one of the causes of elderly people losing superiority and power in society. What once was wisdom and knowledge that defined an elderly person is now something like old fashioned.

According to recent data, the baby boom generation will have all retired by 2030, (AARP), which is only 15 years from now. The population in this generation will include 77 million more 65 and older individuals, not including the 54 million already in retirement and receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits. Please note that many seniors also receive some form of federal benefits such as military pensions, survivor’s benefits, annuities, investments income or an awarded settlement (Quad Agno, 14). Unfortunately, in our society driven many times by greed, this has placed our seniors in vulnerable positions, particularly when health and cognitive functions have declined; a slight disadvantage of becoming older (Quadagno,

Baby boomers challenge the stereotypes about aging is that they do not want to retire at the age of 60 years old. They already know that the economy has changed and therefore money is not available for a lengthy retirement. The average baby boomer today is more active than a person would think that they are active. They take a important role in exercise and are open to new ideas. Examples of families in later life that dispel negative myths on aging is the fact that people are living longer. The reasons behind them living longer is greater access to health care. It has become easier to get from rural areas to doctors visits. There are transportation services in about all counties that partner up with the Department of Social Services to get

Ortman, J. M., Velkoff, V. A., & Hogan, H. (2014). An aging nation: The older population in the

Ageism- prejudice towards people based on their age (Moody, 13). With the life expectancy nearly doubling over the past 100 years, more and more Americans are surpassing the 65-year age landmark. In a survey of people age 60 and above, 80% reported experience with ageism (Dittmann, 2003). Ageism has harm on the mentality of the aging American. Those exposed to positive stereotypes of aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with negative perception to aging. They also tend to have better memory and less feelings of worthlessness (Dittmann, 2003). The perception of aging among Americans have keynote stereotypes: “sick and frail… and unhappy” (Moody, 303). These stereotypes are not viewed in Asian cultures. Sue is not discouraged by her age

Everyone at one time or another will stereotype a person or persons based on other opinions and statements about individuals, through their lifetime. The elderly are associated with negativity and that they are not part of society as functioning. The stereotype of the elderly are that they are senile, have memory lapses, irritable, cranky, boring, grumpy, physically and mentally weak, debilitated and cognitively impaired.

Late Adulthood is the stage of the human life cycle where an individual nears the end of their life. The life expectancy in the United States has slowly increased over the years therefore allowed many to further analyze the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development during late adulthood. The stage of late adulthood has been emphasized by ageism and the stereotypical "old" person but, will be further educated by the normative development of the life cycle of late adulthood. For the “old” experience dramatic changes in their development as they face loss, death, and illness.

Long life has always been considered a blessing. Today, the people of the United States are enjoying the benefit of living much longer than ever before in history. However, there is a flipside to this coin of longevity. The population of the United States is aging at an unprecedented rate. “In 2010, 40 million people age 65 and over accounted for 13 percent of the total population in the United States.” (An Aging Nation) These numbers are expected to double by 2050, with one in every five Americans older than 65. Experts agree that this “Graying of America” will have enormous effects on society. Consequently, society must find ways to adapt to its changes and challenges.