Age discrimination affects our country’s business, economy, values, and human dignity. It’s a disgrace how we treat our elders. It’s time we transform our perceptions of aging, from dependency and weakness to one of proficiency and resourcefulness.
Four major categories that identify subgroups in our society are race, gender, sexual orientation and age. And the latter is the only social group that everyone may join if they’re lucky. Despite this, age-based bias remains under-studied. This article addresses ageism, highlighting existing professionals’ perspectives on its consequences, and how we as a society can fix the prejudice of aging.
As a whole, each one of us marks the passage of age on our birthdays but other than that, aging is rarely discussed. The only time we openly talk about it is when we consider anti-aging cosmetics and treatments. Other than that, it’s considered distasteful. We’re afraid to ask another person’s age or the date of a college graduation. If asked, we either tell a lie or get defensive about the question. It’s not approached with appreciation. As editor of SeniorCare.com, I recently interviewed industry experts for solutions to help alter our culture’s narrow perspectives on aging as found in the recent FrameWorks Institute report Gauging Aging.
Same page thinking
The general public draws on a variety of models or perspectives when thinking about growing older. Some see it as becoming frail, dependent, reduced potential and isolated whereas others see aging as the opposite; giving back to society, forming close relationships, staying active and learning new skills. Both sharply contradict the other posture. But if we are to change the role that older Americans play in our society, aging advocates and professionals believe:
“Before we can leverage the resource model, we first have to view (older adults) as one. Our glorification of the young and able-bodied makes this difficult.” Christina Selder, Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform.
“First we need to deal with ageism. Once everyone accepts that the more aged people are real humans and not just either taking cruises or in a nursing home, we can find ways to tap their talents and energy.” Donna Schempp, Caregiver.org.
“Older adults are often cast aside and deemed non-productive members of society. We’ve read inspiring stories of more abled adults helping their peers who are less mobile by providing transportation or help at home.” Seth Sternberg, JoinHonor.com.
Unite society
Seeing older people as the “other” contributes to a win/lose perspective that facilitate an “Us vs. Them” thinking pattern. It’s rampant in our society—I win, you lose. It seems someone must always lose if there is a winner. The “Us vs. Them” rings true in government support: a program for the aged will take away from a program for children. The thinking pattern propagates ageism. Thought leaders believe:
“We need to foster more intergenerational programs, and we need to document the life stories of our elders. That will help assure that valuable lessons are passed on and that generations learn from each other.” Anthony Cirillo, The Aging Experience.
“It’s not just about care but connection and contribution that allow seniors to thrive. There are several initiatives that I love – the village movement; cross-generational co-housing development; Seniors-Youth attention and tutoring opportunities. These efforts empower older adults to give back.” Michelle Jeong, Reminder Rosie.
“Older adults take care of grandchildren, share wisdom with their kids and younger business associates and assist in the care of their generation. We should 1. Tap into those with specialized knowledge via a program like Japan’s national living treasure grants and 2. Support them in caregiving/extended family assistance.” Shannon Martin, Aging Wisely.
Diverse collection
Our society thrives on uniqueness, individuality, and independence. It’s our country’s values. But regarding caring for people as a whole, the principles diminish shared responsibility. We put the blame on individuals for not saving enough for long-term care and not taking care of one’s health. That type of thinking can fault others and leave them out to dry. Professionals claim these steps to foster unity:
“Older adults are an untapped wealth of life experience and skills. We should capitalize on their knowledge and find ways to utilize their skills—mentoring kids, helping small businesses, teaching others, etc. We should not assume aging means lack of ability. Older adults could be caregivers to their peers when they need help! Seniors have so much to give us all if we engage them!” Kathy Birkett, Senior Care Corner.
“The senior and retired person’s time is the number one most valuable and significant asset they have. While retiring traditionally means relaxing most have opted to make an impact in this new life either through volunteering, mentoring or contributing to their community. It means an upcoming boon in volunteerism that will be great for gaps in areas like elderly transportation and public service.” Harsh Wanigaratne, Spedsta.com.
“By the 22nd century, half the world’s 7,000 languages may go extinct (one disappears every 14 days). Not only do languages catalog aspects of our culture and cognition, but they may even contain irreplaceable knowledge. Often, our elders are caretakers of language, the sole repositories of an oral tradition that could be forgotten. We cannot value, protect or restore one without the other.” Stephen Forman, Long Term Care Associates, Inc.
“Mentors, tutors, guides: so many businesses and individuals today are risky for the wise advice of a life coach or the guiding expertise of a consultant, and will pay a high price for either. Why not engage the millions of older adults who have a lifetime of experience behind them?” Michelle Seitzer, MichelleSeitzer.com.
“Many of us are not close to our family members for one reason or another, so seniors can become surrogate grandparents, aunts, uncles, mothers or fathers to people who are younger. Seniors often have time, love, and wisdom to share. They may appreciate the companionship, energy, and access to technology that younger people can provide.” Margo Rose, Body Aware Grieving.
“The one resource that all older people have and all younger people lack is a life experience. I believe we should strive to find a way to bridge the gap between these generations and tap into that precious resource through mentorship, intergenerational learning, and collective problem solving. There’s a great example of a preschool located in a Seattle senior care center.” Stuart Karten, Karten Design.
Promote opportunity
The public blinds itself to the fact that people are living longer, and the population is growing older. We’re so focused on ourselves as individuals that we lose sight of the whole society. That limits our perspective. We don’t “get” the needs of others and how to support our older segment. We’re a segregated group of individuals. If we don’t see the problem, how can we create solutions? Here’s what aging thought leaders say we must do to remedy the limited vision:
“Older adults are a natural resource in their willingness to serve the community as volunteers. A survey by the federal Administration on Aging states that 15 million seniors currently volunteer. They prefer to do more of it because it benefits them. The act of giving back builds strong social ties in the community and prolongs physical and mental health in old age.” Evan Farr, Farr Law Firm.
“All generations can benefit from the more elderly population’s ‘pearls of wisdom’ from both their personal life experiences and their business acumen. The recent movie “The Intern” with Robert De Niro highlighted the importance of traditional business techniques and relationship building in the age of social media and technology. Marla Levie, Focus on Aging.
“Caring for our aging population is already an enormous part of our economy. However, the current model is to build care homes to house the elderly and those with memory problems. It would be better to integrate the communities, rather than isolate them. I like the model of a joint-care home for older adults and daycare for young children. Nancy Wurtzel, Dating Dementia.
“With elders being this nation’s greatest natural resource we are fortunate to have a generation of Americans eager and willing to impart invaluable knowledge gained from their life experiences. We can look to elders for guidance with relationships, family, learning patience, compassion and how to move forward in the face of adversity. All one needs to do is listen, ask questions and learn.” David Mordehi, Advise and Protect.
“We could allow older adults to continue contributing in their fields of expertise in ways that suit their lifestyle needs. They have decades of experience that offers wisdom and perspective. We could set up corporate programs where seniors act as consultants on projects or formally mentor younger employees.” Connie Chow, Daily Caring.
As experts in the aging services industry we have first-hand experience of the discrimination older Americans live with every day. If we can help the public understand that they too will grow old and face the same judgment, maybe then our society could transform aging.
How can I rid myself of ageism catalogs that come in the mail? I’ve already unsubscribed from many thru catalog choice. I’d like to continue with some catalogs, but without the overwhelming offers of pajamas, bed jackets and especially the memorial or quasi religious junk, not to mention the over abundance of trivial ailment offers. This is deeply offensive, degrading, depressing, insulting plus!
The same goes for website and Facebook ads.
Hi, on occasion I see a 503 site error when I browse this website. I thought you may wish to know, best wishes
Thank you for reading Serv, we will look at the logs to see what we can do to increase reliability!
So many ideas popped out at me after reading your “Fixes for Ageism.” What an amazing idea. Here’s the one that impressed me.
“There’s a great example of a preschool located in a Seattle senior care center.”
What a marvelous idea to have a preschool area in the senior centers so the children can be monitored and appreciate…. the joy of grandparent type love and care that our seniors have and would love to share with the little ones. The working mother and/or father can sigh relief knowing their children are with loving angels….just older ones….ones that can be patient and share respect between each other.
It would be an alternative to typical babysitting homes that take in children that are not like home. And because grandparents are not always or even “ever” available, these seniors that live at the center will be.
The money goes toward the seniors care but also the care facilities activities but be less expensive than typical babysitting agencies. It’s a win-win for both.
As I’m writing this the ideas are pouring out. There’s so much to benefit for the child and the senior. Don’t you think?
I think that is a fantastic idea!!!! To incorporate older adults back into warm perceptions – submerging them in career opportunities is the best place to attack! By incorporating day cares in senior homes, its a win win. 1.) they can make money but MOSTLY, 2.) they can directly attack the perceptions at the roots, with tending the children who will one day run the country. This idea is fantastic and needs to be done. How wide span is this practice?
That’s a lovely thought! Thank you for reading the post.
Marak,
Before I convey my thoughts, I want to say thank you for dedicating the time to write this blog. As an AGNG 320 student, this blog sparked by interest! It focuses on a concept; I believe is a major contributor to the negative effects on the economy and health.
Presently, I have experience in two aging courses. Out of all the information I’ve learned about the aging process, the influence of perceptions spark my interest the most. In your paragraph titled, “Same Page Thinking”, you mention two perceptions of contrast. On one half of perceptions, there will be individuals who view older adults as frail and dependent while the other half views the older adult as independent and teachers. Most likely the individuals with the negative perception will be the younger population and the latter being the older adults. I believe this negative perception is reinforced from our cultures biomedical model – a model that does not believe in the effects of environmental variable. When this model is reinforced it becomes the underlying perceptions that influence our cultures attitudes about age. This affects our attitudes and behaviors about employment, media and the development of organizations that revolve around certain aging stages. I believe this biomedical model may correlate to the existence of ageism within our country. By ignoring environmental influence it ignores the threats pertaining to the perceptions of agism. Instead of embracing the healthy aspects of the social environment, it seeks to control and maintenance human well-fare. When you said, “the public blinds itself to the fact that people are living longer, and the population is growing older. We’re so focused on ourselves as individuals that we lose sight of the whole society” I think you are absolutely correct. The boomer population will take a toll on society if actions are not taken now. People are living longer, therefore, we as a society need to perceive older adulthood as another stage that contributes to society, over the negative perception of it being the dead end towards ones contributions.
Once again, thank you for your blog entry. It resonated with me the most.
Sincerely from
A Young Adult
Thank you for studying the aging.
I am an AGNG 200 student at the Erickson School of Aging and relates to what we have been discussing in class related to the perceptions and bias of aging. The negative perception towards aging is a very significant issue. This makes the elderly feel as if they are no longer useful and therefore do not feel the desire to maintain a healthy life routine because they know they are getting closer to the end of their time. But, if the elder do not maintain a healthy lifestyle of proper dieting, exercising, and other social activities they will forfeit the capability of utilizing their mind and bodies. The elderly actually have so much potential to accomplish and partake in activities in later life after retirement. The bias against aging relates to a concept we learned in class which is called the “Disengagement Theory” where typically older adults withdraw from work and society to participate in more leisure activities.
Hello I an an aging 200 student from the Erickson school of aging, and I agree with a number of points discussed in this article. It is extremely sad that we as a society society meaning the United States) do not value and respect the elderly. They have so much to offer, and as a result of our culture there is stigma and an overall negative attitude towards aging and the elderly. Before taking aging 200 and reading this post I did not realize that our attitudes towards aging affect the economy, values and society overall. With a change of culture and mentality we would all be better of emotionally, psychologically, and financially . We as a society need to utilize and appreciate what they can offer our society.
Thank you, Bob, we need more students like you in gerontology! Appreciate your stand.
Great summary! Encouraging to hear about all the various directions and engagements that are in process on this issue.
Thanks for reading!
Great article! I had my eyes opened to these issues as I helped my mother cope with being forced into a nursing home for the final 2years of her life. There simply is no other housing option available in our area for someone who is physically frail but mentally sharp.And, as my mother kept saying, the treatment itself is debilitating. Being in a nursing home means spending most of your time sitting and waiting for the overworked staff to finish tending to emergencies. So you get weaker and the system perpetuates the idea that old people who need help belong in nursing homes.
I;m the author of the article. Thank you for reading. It’s a significant issue in our society and ignoring it will only perpetuate the problems mature adults deal with every day; high long-term care and health related costs, and others. What are your thoughts on fixing ageism? Please join the conversation.