the effects of ageism

Whether images of aging are based on personal views, or collaborative views generated from societal influence, the fact is, aging is generally perceived as a less than desirable inevitability. Aging is not only seen as being “one step closer to death”, but it is traditionally associated with images of physical illness, senility and helplessness. However, in truth, the elderly are a vastly diverse group of individuals that cannot be so easily classified.

In terms of the elderly population’s mental and physical health, as well as their economic resources and their social lives, there is no universal label that can be applied; members of the senior class are just as diverse as any subgroup that exists in any given population. On a similar note, age-related changes differ greatly from one individual to the next in the same manner as each person differs from one another while maturing from infancy to adulthood.

These impressions often develop into socially acquired attitudes that affect how we deal with individuals on the basis of their age and in turn affect the stereotyped individual's self-concept and self-esteem. What changes is not older peoples' capacity to be vigorous, productive and creative. Rather, society is unwilling to see seniors as vital and active contributors far beyond traditional retirement age, and many older individuals absorb this concept into their own mind-sets.

Treating someone as sickly when they are perfectly healthy, or as incompetent when their mind is as sharp as it ever was, can cause the older individual to begin to adjust his view to coincide with that of society’s, which can actually lead to an amplified deterioration process for the affected individual. Often a person's awareness of his own aging comes from someone else's unexpected comment or action. Moreover, older people may have held negative stereotypes of the elderly when they were young, and if they continue to hold them as they age themselves, they may fall prey to self-stereotyping.

This process is the epitomic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. When people buy into society’s stereotypes, the social structures in turn prompt the behaviors that confirm those stereotypes. The assumption that the aged cannot contribute significantly to the social system leads them to internalize those assumptions to the point of proving them valid.

Some experts have suggested that the management of one’s identity in later life can be seen as almost a form of masquerade. In other words, while maturity brings with it the possibility of continued personal growth and development, this often occurs within the context of a progressively more constrained social environment. Thus, when expectations are placed on an individual based solely on their chronological age, the individual often tends to feel obligated to fulfill those expectations and even welcome the submersion of existential imperatives that might not have otherwise arisen merely as a result of growing older.

There is often extreme pressure on the aging individual to conform to social expectations. Our society has almost no positive expectations of the elderly, and in many ways senior citizens are actually encouraged to become dependent and helpless. Such views may cause disparity between generations based on age-related conflicts. For example, an adult daughter who views her mother as helpless and dependent may have trouble interacting with a mother who has maintained her sense of independence and self-fortitude. Assuming that we must "look after" the elderly also leads to a disregard of the positive contributions they are able to make. Many older people do have a great deal to offer the community in caring, advice, friendship, and accumulated knowledge.

What is also overlooked all too frequently is the contributions seniors can make to the workforce. A recent national survey by the Los Angeles Times reported by Jocelyn Stewart on May 17, 2000 revealed that “three of four respondents felt younger than their actual ages”. Furthermore, the poll showed that “those in their 70s and 80s said they felt as if they were in their 60s. Those who were in their 60s said they felt they were in their early 50s.” Perhaps most importantly, the poll found that “nearly 25 percent of retired respondents…said they had retired too soon”.

Fortunately, to coincide with these changing attitudes, there has been some progress made towards reducing ageism. For example, there is a current trend emerging for older workers to leave the work force gradually, and to take on “bridge jobs” before leaving employment. More and more older workers express a desire to remain economically active, and often need to bring in more income. Thus retirement is becoming more of a long-term process that in had traditionally been. Furthermore, mandatory retirement has been outlawed and Social Security is becoming more “age neutral”, no longer penalizing those working beyond 65. Plus, Americans are living longer healthier lives and many look forward to years of productive activity after age 65.

Nevertheless, new attitudes toward work later in life are just beginning to emerge. However, out of sheer necessity, societal and cultural attitudes will have to experience radical and dynamic changes in order to adjust to the active, healthier and more capable older generation.

Making people more aware that the stereotypes they have about the aged are profoundly false can encourage positive attitudes. This can be primarily achieved through appropriate research, as well as the proper dissemination of the findings. Gerontology is considered a new multidisciplinary subject of research in academia that includes biology, chemistry, psychology, history, economics, political studies and sociology.

The fact is, the older population is forever expanding, its economic and political bases are becoming stronger, and its technological sophistication is growing at a remarkably swift pace. Yet the images most of society holds of the senior sect have not evolved at the same rate. The contemporary senior possesses enormous resources for contributing to life, enjoying life, and generating and sharing experiences and ideas about life, age, and personal values. Unfortunately, these are not the qualities that usually first spring to mind when someone mentions the elderly. So the challenge of dispelling the myths and reversing the stereotypes toward aging so prevalent in our society is ongoing.

Perhaps nothing can completely destroy the deeply ingrained societal bias that older people are a frail, powerless, and burdensome. As a society we are obsessed with the negative rather than the positive aspects of aging. Our best hope of combating these destructive attitudes lies in accepting that scientific evidence clearly points away from these stereotypes. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that there is a sizeable discrepancy between the actual process of ageing and society's perception of the process.

Stereotypes present simplified and preconceived images that are often exaggerated and resistant to change. These images are often erroneous because they make generalizations of a social category; and this is especially true of stereotypical images held of the elderly. Furthermore, the images ignore variations in the members of a social category regardless of individual characteristics and lifestyles. Therefore, we need to be aware of inaccuracies, or myths, that enter into our formation of stereotypes and to understand the problems that result from assumptions based on stereotypes of the misrepresented elderly population.