Age And Ageism

Age and Ageism

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Author Note

Age and Ageism

Since the dawn of time, people have celebrated the wisdom of the ages. The older members of the family were often given the role of decision-makers in various prevalent cultures across the globe since they placed wisdom and age before youth and beauty. They knew that aging wasn’t a process of decay, but one of nurtured growth, that had emerged from the divine and miserable confines of the youth to its present state of knowledge and experience, the sort that can help them evolve into better versions of themselves ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"rmNO8DXY","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Ayalon & Tesch-R\\uc0\\u246{}mer, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1075,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/N87NIZ63"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/N87NIZ63"],"itemData":{"id":1075,"type":"book","title":"Taking a closer look at ageism: self-and other-directed ageist attitudes and discrimination","publisher":"Springer","ISBN":"1613-9372","author":[{"family":"Ayalon","given":"Liat"},{"family":"Tesch-Römer","given":"Clemens"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2017).

At present, it seems as if the society, as a whole, holds a grudge towards the mere concept of aging. The older segments of society are fine with the process of aging, considering that there is nothing they can do to reverse the biological process of aging ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"oBpUd1r6","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Novak, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Novak, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1078,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/34EIAXC7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/34EIAXC7"],"itemData":{"id":1078,"type":"book","title":"Issues in Aging","publisher":"Taylor & Francis","URL":"https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=vPI5CgAAQBAJ","ISBN":"978-1-317-34709-5","author":[{"family":"Novak","given":"M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Novak, 2015). However, given how the times have changed, these individuals are no longer aging psychologically aging. They are still young at heart and having the time of their lives. They even enjoy the process of social aging, by giving up their roles in society and seeing the younger generation step up and take on the responsibility they left behind with a sort of grace and poise ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YB1KT3qN","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Donizzetti, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Donizzetti, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1077,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/5RHWY5MH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/5RHWY5MH"],"itemData":{"id":1077,"type":"article-journal","title":"Ageism in an aging society: The role of knowledge, anxiety about aging, and stereotypes in young people and adults","container-title":"International journal of environmental research and public health","page":"1329","volume":"16","issue":"8","author":[{"family":"Donizzetti","given":"Anna Rosa"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Donizzetti, 2019).

However, in a culture that worships youth and puts them on a high pedestal, the older segments of society are treated unfairly. They are marginalized on the basis of their age by various social institutions and not given the room to enjoy the luxuries they have been bestowed by life. It is society as a whole that is subjecting the older adult population to ageism by immaturely discriminating against them and makes it difficult for them to be anything but what the society dictates them to be – old, demure, and unable to enjoy all that life has to offer ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"cVOlrjsb","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Officer & de la Fuente-N\\uc0\\u250{}\\uc0\\u241{}ez, 2018)","plainCitation":"(Officer & de la Fuente-Núñez, 2018)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1076,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/WVBTSAD8"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/5VyEEXyp/items/WVBTSAD8"],"itemData":{"id":1076,"type":"article-journal","title":"A global campaign to combat ageism","container-title":"Bulletin of the World Health Organization","page":"295","volume":"96","issue":"4","author":[{"family":"Officer","given":"Alana"},{"family":"Fuente-Núñez","given":"Vânia","non-dropping-particle":"de la"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Officer & de la Fuente-Núñez, 2018).

This acute fear of aging has kept people from growing and discovering that age is truly just a number. It is an intrinsic part of life and is only feared by those that have lived a life completely devoid of meaning.

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Ayalon, L., & Tesch-Römer, C. (2017). Taking a closer look at ageism: Self-and other-directed ageist attitudes and discrimination. Springer.

Donizzetti, A. R. (2019). Ageism in an aging society: The role of knowledge, anxiety about aging, and stereotypes in young people and adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(8), 1329.

Novak, M. (2015). Issues in Aging. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=vPI5CgAAQBAJ

Officer, A., & de la Fuente-Núñez, V. (2018). A global campaign to combat ageism. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 96(4), 295.