Ageism Essay

Positive and Negative Effects of Ageism Essay
Ageism, the Third Great "ism"
"Ageism has been called the ultimate prejudice, the last discrimination, the cruelest rejection," Stein
(unpublished). We as a people have defeated for the most part racism and sexism, but we have
allowed the third great "ism" to remain unchallenged. "This widely practiced prejudice has gone on
for generations and is known as ageism," (Palmore, Erdman, Ballagh (1999). By definition,
according to Webster's Dictionary, it is discrimination against person's of a certain age group.
Ageism includes both positive affect and a negative connotation with any given age group. It is
predominately seen as a reflection on the elderly. Positive aspects of ageism on the elderly include
medical care, discounts and tax...show more content...
Medicare is not the only benefit seniors receive from their government. Taxes can be greatly
affected by age. For instance, many elderly receive tax breaks and extensions based on their social
security benefits as well as reductions and tax–cuts on certain holdings and investments. So with
Roth IRAs, 401k the elderly is only taxed upon withdrawal. Discounts are available everywhere for
the elderly from restaurants to cruise ships. Normally, with higher prices bring bigger discounts.
Ageing workers are more skilled, knowledgeable, and more proficient than their younger
counterparts. Often times it can be said that the "older people" are more intelligent, practical,
intuitive, extremely flexible and very strategic in their work ethic, planning and can be considered
"intelligent" in life's well learned lessons that come with age and wisdom. Being positive and using
an example in this way between aging and greater wisdom, one tends to have a greater degree of
patience, greater understanding and wisdom that parallels life's pathway. "Many elders in foreign
countries are considered to be esteemed and held in high regard," (Applebaum, Bardo, Robbins
(2103). Some studies show that interests, motivation and skill does not decline with age, nor does a
person's work performance suffer due to aging. Aging workers also receive higher salaries due to
their tenure. Finally, there is no data to show that older workers cost more to insure than younger
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ageism
Ageism
Kristen Dorman
Ageism is the discrimination against an individual or group due to age. While ageism is a real
problem, many people tend to ignore it because it is so often practiced, people don't even realize it
is happening. The forms of ageism range from the very obvious to the more discrete, almost
unrecognizable discrimination. While ageism is evident in all age groups, it tends to be more
dominant among the elderly and teenagers or young adults.
When most people envision an elderly person, their minds go to the iconic little old lady or man.
They automatically think about them having psychological ailments such as dementia or
Alzheimer's. With this assumption comes many unfair prejudices in the work place or other...show
more content...
The level of precautions used when driving is based on an individual's skills and mind set, not on
their age. However, car insurance companies do not view it this way. They assume that due to their
age, young drivers will not pay attentions to what they are doing and are more likely to get
distracted by friends, music, or cell phones than their older counterparts would be.
A large complaint with young individuals is the legal drinking age. Many of them feel that the
age should be dropped down to 18 years old. The argument behind this is if they are old enough
and mature enough at this age to go die for their country in the military, they should be old enough
to make the decision by themselves whether or not to drink. The other side of this argument is that
the brain is not fully developed at this age in responsible decision making. When given this
argument, a lot of the adolescence go back to the argument that if they can vote for the leaders of
their country, they should be able to drink. In a survey conducted at NC State University, the largest
complaint about being looked down upon with their age was the legal drinking age.
In conclusion, ageism in today's times is a real form of discrimination and needs to be fixed. An
individual's skills and capabilities should be based on a personal level, not their age. The elderly
and the young need just as much job opportunities as the middle–aged individuals living in the

Ageism: Prejudice Of Senior Citizens
To begin with, ageism refers to discriminating and being prejudice of senior citizens (p.1),
according to assisted living federation of America (2013). Therefore, Anderson (2013) stated,
"some younger people perceive anyone with wrinkled skin or gray hair as old" (pg.1) thus, the
issues of ageist stereotypes are associated with the process of aging. Consequently, while discussing
with family and friends about the mounting baby boomer populace, there are various respectable
and dire descriptions of aging and the elderly. An unpleasant reflection of aging would be calling
them old, fragile, socially isolated, and supplementary forgetful. On the other hand, the fine
descriptions of older adults would be being more conversant, becoming of additional

Ageism In Media
Unfortunately, ageism does exist in the United States. I think the main place I have seen ageism
is in the media. It is rare to see older women and men in shows or films. We have been taught that
the young beautiful girl, or the young handsome man are the ones who should be the main
characters. I believe Hollywood can do a much better job creating roles for older people where
they can shine. Not only that but when they are represented they are portrayed in a negative light.
Also there are a lot of jokes made of older people in the media. There are stereotypes like the
stereotypical grumpy old man or the older folk who knows nothing about technology and a lot more.
I think the people putting these things out there don't realize how hurtful

Ageism: A Brief Summary And Analysis
As I was reading through the assigned chapters this week, I was really interested when Berger
(2011) brought up the topic of ageism. She defines this concept as "a prejudice whereby people
are categorized and judged solely on the basis of their chronological age" (Berger, 2011, p. 640).
While this prejudice can be focused at any age group, I feel as though ageism directed at people in
their late adulthood can be extremely detrimental to their mental and physical health. Not only can it
result in feelings of incompetence and low self–esteem, it can limit their work opportunities and can
prevent "depressed elderly people from seeking health" (Berger, 2011, p. 642) which can lead to
suicide. Ageism is presented in many forms, but one matter

Ageism Essay
The Elderly individuals face problems like Ageism. The older society is not given the same options
in treatment as the younger society. The Elderly who battle cancer do not receive chemotherapy like
the younger generation. Some people believe that doctors are genuinely worried about their patients
and others believe that age discrimination is the reason of treatment discrepancy (Dockter & Keene,
2009). Almost 50 percent of breast cancer cases are women 65 and older. In the research of those
women, only eight percent of those women received chemotherapy. Ageism has been the main cause
of the Elderly not receiving adequate treatment. Age discrimination prevents the very treatment that
kills cancer cells so the person can survive. Age...show more content...
Ageism is the cause of imperfect examinations and delayed treatments for the elderly. Elderly
individuals constantly face negligence because of Ageism (Dockter & Keene, 2009). Problems
are not limited to just women but elderly men as well. The elderly are seen as a group instead of
individuals who should have individual medical test to treat the systems that are shown. Even for
the elderly, freedom of choice should be a factor and treatment should be as equal for them as it is
for everyone else. Doctors should not act like the elderly is not worth the effort. Since there is a
wide–range of elderly population, ageism has become a big problem. Some of the older
population does not have social interactions with society which can create social isolation. Some
of the older generation have children but are not living at the same location. Being alone,
especially for a long amount of time can cause depression. Depression, if prolonged, can cause
other health issues. Ageism can deny older people control of their own life. When a person has
lack of control over their life, this creates dependency and violates the person's civil rights. An
increase of elderly people can put a huge demand on health and social services. Some elderly
people are unable to care for themselves because of physical or mental health. Nursing Care
Facilities are present in these cases (Ward, 2000). Healthcare providers need to have a positive
perspective on

Ageism In The Workplace Essay
Ageism
Ageism is "discrimination against older people." (Webster's, 2003) The words age and racism
combined to define this prejudice. There are studies that show one in every five workers in the
United States are over fifty–five. Around sixty percent of workers state they have experienced ageism
in the workplace. (North, 2013)
Yet, the elderly are not the only ones who experience agediscrimination. Ageism happens to
children, teenagers, and middle–aged adults. Age discrimination appears to be prevalent in all
countries. In Japan it 's reported as early as thirty years old. Recruiting agencies there discriminate
against workers at a young age. In the United States the magic number seems to be around fifty.
Ageism is normal for our society today, it is common place practice. It is the one bias that is not
talked about or advocated against.
Individual Ageism
The elderly experience ageism on a daily basis. Whether it is in the workplace, in the media, by
family and personal relationships. Workers report that age discrimination has become common in
their work place. Society trains us early on to "act our age," and it carries into adulthood. Many
believe that the elderly should retire and let younger workers have their jobs. Women report that
this bias appears for them at a younger age than for men who are their contemporaries. This is
especially true in the media, we tend to judge older women harder than we do older men.
We are all guilty of ageism

Ageism As A Diversity Issue Essay
Introduction
Ageism is surprisingly common in Australia, particularly within the workforce. The definition of
ageism in working life according to Furunes and Mykletun (2009), is the "stereotypes, prejudice, and
discrimination against ageing workers, based on chronological age or age categories such as older
worker or senior". This phenomenon has seen older workers increasingly subjected to biases and
discriminatory practices when seeking and maintaining employment. Hence, the importance for
organisations to understand current and trending issues on age discrimination, in order to draft and
implement, effective, and relevant policies. The purpose of this report is to provide an in–depth
analysis on ageism as a diversity issue in the workplace and to recommend organisational policies
that recognise older workers as a strategic advantage. This analysis will focus on literature relevant to
the recruitment and development of older workers. To begin with, this report will consider the
context of ageism in Australia providing a deeper understanding of the diversity issue. Furthermore,
an extensive discussion on the positive and negative age stereotypes of older workers will follow.
The report will then review literature regarding organisational practices towards recruitment and
development from an age related perspective. Finally, recommendations will ensue, providing
organisational best practise suggestions to create age positive recruitment and training experiences.

Essay On Ageism
Ageism is defined as prejudice based on age, and is made up of two core elements, stereotyping
and discrimination. Stereotyping consists of attributing a simplistic idea or characteristic to an
entire group, such as the belief that older people are forgetful. Discrimination occurs when people
act on these stereotypes, for example, refusing to hire an older person because of the belief that
they are forgetful. While ageism can affect people of all ages, it is generally considered to refer to
prejudice against older adults. Ageism has a negative impact on society, leading to decreased
economic strength and placing a burden on the health care system. Ageism greatly affects elders in
the workforce; they may feel pressure to retire or turned down...show more content...
One of these such issues is the assumption of frailty, research by Palmore (2001) shows that nearly
half of persons older than sixty surveyed reported that a health care professional had assumed their
ailments were caused by age. Personally, I often find myself believing this facility; if my
grandmother complained of breathing difficulties I would take it less seriously than if my brother
made the same claim. I'd simply assume that her issues were caused by aging, not some underlying
issue. Generally, ailments are much more easily treated the earlier they are caught. When elders are
undiagnosed, their ailments worsen, therefore becoming more expensive and time–consuming to
treat. According to Hsu (2016) assuming frailty can also cause learned helplessness, where ageism
creates a self–fulfilling prophecy. I can see examples of this in my own experiences; my family
believed that my grandfather was too old to work and should retire. After my grandfather retired,
he accepted our beliefs and the beliefs of society that his cognitive abilities were too weak to
function fully, he stopped pushing himself to learn more and therefore suffered actual decline. The
consequences of our prejudice are not limited to their effect on the elder population of society;
according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (2016) over fifty–five million people are enrolled in
Medicare

Ageism
Unfortunately, attitudes exist throughout today's society that cause younger individuals to overlook
the needs of older adults, as they are often seen as a burden. Ageism is a growing concern amongst
the current population of older adults. Hirst, Lane & Miller (2015) define ageism as negative
stereotyping towards older adults solely due to their age. Older adults are continually being
minimized, made to feel as if they aren't worthy. It is especially evident in health care facilities,
whether it is long–term care homes or hospital settings. Hirst, Lane & Miller (2015) found in a
review of studies that older adults are more likely to receive less aggressive treatment for ailments
due to people holding onto the belief that common ailments are

The Sociological Theories Of Ageism
Ageism is any attitudes, actions, or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group
because of their age or any assignment of roles in society purely on the basis of age. It typically
reflects a prejudice in society against older adults. The concept of aging varies across different
cultures as different countries have varying demographic statistics such as Japan and Italy having
significant part of their population above the age of 60 versus most countries in Africa who have
significant parts of their population below the age of 30. Most research on ageism is done on
children, adolescents, or young adults with few studies on actual older adults. Age is increasingly
becoming a more positive concept, yet older people are still stereotyped. The three theories in
sociology about aging are disengagement, activity, and continuity.
The first theory in sociology concerning aging is the disengagement theory from the functionalist
perspective, developed by Elaine Cummings and Warren Earl Henry. Cummings and Henry
theorized that as people age, older people should disengage from their roles in society and take on
more roles that they are more accommodating to their degenerating physical and mental state. By
older people leaving their roles in immediate society, they allow younger, more capable individuals
to fill those spots, providing more productive and efficient results. A critical problem with this
theory is that it assumes that older people are incapable of

Ageism is a term that refers to a set of beliefs about age. Ageism is a type of stereotyping that
relate to prejudgment or discrimination against any particular age group and is viewed as a
negative perspective about the elderly. Ageism supposes that the elderly is no longer able to
contribute to society in a meaningful way, and drain the broader society's resources because of a
continuous decline in health and well–being. (Women 's Health Encyclopedia, 2011) Studies like the
Census Bureau statistics challenge this belief. Reports revealed that a rather small number of the
elderly are in nursing homes, and that these individuals tend to be the very oldest. Other reports
indicate that being separated with other aged people and having limited opportunities for making
decisions, which leads to the decline in function. Although health and social policy believes that
aging defines function, it does not. (Women 's Health Encyclopedia, 2011)
The Discrimination Act of 1975, protects against the mistreatment of the elderly. The Age
Discrimination Act of 1975 guides programs or activities receiving U.S. federal financial
assistance. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, places distinctions on the different stages of aging.
The childhood stage known as dependent status and adulthood stage is the age of consent or
majority, with variation by societal norm or law. For example, adulthood stage is considered to be
the time of onset of puberty, becoming a parent, entering a career,

Ageism In Elderly
Abstract
This literature review examines how anti ageing stereotypes in western cultures affects the health of
elder people. Negative and positive stereotypes are learned and reinforced as we grow up and then
are self internalized when we become "old". By examining numerous studies and different research,
have found that negative stereotypes have adverse affects on older people and that internalized
positive stereotypes can benefit older peoples health. Throughout this
Key words: Ageism, Stereotype Embodiment
Effects of Ageism and Aging Stereotypes
Lately, research on how stereotypes affect elders has turned "from younger individuals who hold
age stereotypes to older individuals who are targeted by these stereotypes" (Levy,...show more
content...
We live in a culture who is highly against ageing and in result, "we ultimately oppress ourselves:
Either we try to avoid the aging process or we lose self–esteem because of the selves we feel we are
becoming" (Calasanti, 2005). With knowledge and understanding of how these elder people
embody sterotypes about ageing we can start to diminish these sterotypes and as a society. Also,
if we learn about the effect of steotypes we can help stop reinforcing them and bring ourselves to
only think of the positive thoughts of aging so we, can try to age more happily. Studtying this
subject can also help those who work with elderly individuals and give them the knowledge to
understand them and care for them. Further studies should be done on if one can change there
perceptions on againg and if it can reverse the advesr effects they had prior. If one can learn to
internalize only the posotove sterotypes of aging can it incresase there health, even after they have
suffered from effect of negatives

Ageism Essay
Day to day, people face all sorts of discrimination in the world. One form of discrimination a
person may encounter is ageism. Ageism is defined as prejudice against a certain age group.
Whether that a young age such as teenagers, or an older age such as senior citizens. Ageism is
everywhere. In the media of today's world and in jobs.
A common belief is ageism only targets those who are older in age, but this is not true. Teenagers
and younger can face discrimination as well because of their age. The time between childhood and
adulthood can be looked at as the teenage years. The group "teenagers" only arose around the
twentieth century during the industrialization period. Often times teenagers are thought of as lazy,
rebellious, and...show more content...
The idea of being less than society based in age became a serious problem. So in 1970 Maggie
Kuhn founded the Grey Panthers. She created a mission statement that stated, " work for social
and economic justice and peace for all it's people." (Hess). Ageism does not only affect one who
is older of age in the means of their job, but also in how they are treated publically. In society
everyone looked at seniors as either weak or grouchy. This needed to be changed. Kuhn believed
the "talent, energy, and wisdom of older Americans was being wasted" (Hess). The Gray Panthers
also worked to secure social security for those who are retired. Being pressured to retire at a certain
age created financial issues. As Americans grew older and their health began to dissipate, the
concern of health care came up. Abuse in nursing homes was typically overlooked or forgotten. The
Gray Panthers became active and campaigned for ageism to eventually vanish.
Ageism can be found in something the average human encounters everyday, the media. Movies,
social networking, and television shows can help put labels on ages through characters and news
stories. In today's Hollywood world, movies and television tend to gravitate toward the "young and
pretty" face, not giving those who are older a chance. A large majority of the population is
currently aging. Being deprived of representation in the media is taking away the "voice and
face"of the wrinkled faces. Often times when someone who is older is

Strengths Of Ageism
Introduction.
Social work is a practice–based profession and an academic discipline that seeks to improve or
enhance social change and development, foster social cohesion, and the empowerment and
liberation of people. Social work is seen as unique for its values and ethics, appreciation and
acceptance for human diversity. Social work professionals assist individuals, families, groups,
organizations, communities, and society in many areas such as of aging or ageism. This essay is
going critically discuss the strengths approach and its interventions on ageism. Its also going to
define ageism and give my own self–reflection and challenges about ageism.
Ageism.
According to Loreto (2000), ageism is a form of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping that is
mostly experienced by elderly people. Most elderly people are mentally and physically well and
regardless of their age, but society and its norms marginalise elderly people, treat them with
disrespect, make them feel unwelcome and otherwise generalise as if they were all the same.
Stereotypes that contribute to ageism is...show more content...
Social workers usually focus on adaption, to new experiences, issues, and even losses. An
overpowering approach emphasizes how people use their strengths to survive, adapt to new
experiences, and learn to appreciate the positive aspects of these new experiences. The second
aspect is competence, and the social worker can help older adults focus on and emphasize what
they can do and what they cannot do. Each individual should appreciate his or her own level of
competence. Relatedness, is concept, involves the sense of belonging and relating to other people.
Adaption for the elderly is usually related directly to having to rely on medication for the rest of
their life, or having to rely on strangers for daily living needs. It appears that every juncture, an
elderly

The phrase "ageism" refers to two notions: a gregariously constructed way of cogitating older
persons predicated on negative postures and stereotypes about ageing and a proclivity to structure
society predicated on a posit that everyone is puerile, thereby failing to respond opportunely to the
authentic desiderata of older persons. Treating people unfairly based on their age has been in
attendance in the society because of the inclination of developments that is happening. Ageism is
sometimes a cause for individuals acts of age discrimination and as well as discrimination that is
more structured in nature, treating people in an unfair situation ascribable to age is known as age
discrimination (Ontario Human Rights ...). Treating people unfairly

Research Paper On Ageism
In the following, I will discuss an issue which emerged from my Interview. The issue I identified
was ageism. I will examine the issue of ageism and summarise how contemporary policy aims to
address the issue of ageism. Bytheway (1995) provides an expanded definition of ageism by
highlighting how it constructs fear and an unfair perception of the ageing process. Ageism is a
stereotypical view of an individual regarding their competency and need for protection. In the
present day society is ageing and is talked about more. Because of the ageing population in society
this will present more of a problem as time goes on. Ageism does not only cover elderly people who
are typically older than 65 years of age. It encompases all ages from people in...show more content...
Both the young and the old experience this type of discrimination. Discrimination occurs at many
different levels in society based on age. This is experienced at an individual, societal and
organisational level. In terms of young people an example of this issue can be seen in the age
you must be to run for president. People under a certain age are inhibited from running for
president showing a way in which they are singled out and rejected from participating. However,
Michael D. Higgins stated that a society that values all ages mixed both with wisdom and energy
is a rich society. In their study Palmore (2001) wanted to identify the prevalence of ageism.
Palmore (2001) identified that the experience of ageism was widespread and that participants
encountered more than one incident. The type of ageism involved disrespect towards the
individual and assumptions about the person. In their study 77% of the participants over 60 years
of age experienced repeated ageism which consisted of inappropriate jokes towards that age group.
Bytheway (2005) also identified that ageism has an impact on all ages that related to fear and
prejudice. Similarly, Palmore (2001) highlighted that prejudice and discrimination against all age
categories was revealed in their study but with older people being specifically targeted. Ageism was
ubiquitous across all subgroups that were studied. Very little difference was found between age or

Ageism Effects On Our Society
This article gave me more of an awareness of how "ageism" effects our society and the effects it
has on older adults. Something that stood out to me reading this article is how often older adults
feel like their being discriminated because of the individuals age. In 1992 a survey was conducted
across Europe, the test revealed that three quarters of EU citizens believed that older workers were
victims of discrimination and companies were not hiring them or proving already hired employees
with promotions or training opportunities. So individuals are aware of this type of discrimination,
but people aren't acting on it. After reading this article and also taking IAT bias test has really
opened my eyes. I never want to discriminate against anyone,

Ageism Research Paper
Ageism Paper
Ageism is becoming a major problem. The elderly population is predicted to double in the next
eight years, having the effect of older people in the workforce, medical patients, and community
members. This causes younger people to be around older people more often causing them to make
generalizations. There has been an increased effort to stop age discrimination. Ageing is a natural
occurring thing so most people in their lives will be affected by ageism. For one to fully
understand ageism, one must know the definition, stereotypes, and the effect of those stereotypes.
Ageism is the prejudging of an individual, or group based on notions of age. Ageism is just like
other "isms" like racism or sexism. Our society praises youth and...show more content...
The actual statistic of people in nursing homes is around five percent in the United States. That is
approximately about sixteen million people. Many people believe that people are forced into a
nursing home because they are frail or have an illness or disability. When in actuality about
fifteen percent go to a nursing home because of these reasons.I know this stereotype is false
because I know a lot of older people not in a nursing home. With this, a similar stereotype is that
old people are always sick. This goes with the nursing home stereotype because it is believed that
many sick people go to nursing homes. This goes with that old people lose their sexuality because
of commercials that bash on olders people sexual drive. Older people can not benefit from
services to help them mentally. A generality about older people is that they became more
religious as they age. This stereotype is false according to a Duke University study that suggest
that people who are religious in older life were also religious when they were younger. Most of the
time religious beliefs are constant throughout life. A reason that this is believed is because most
religions have a belief about afterlife, and older people are closer to

How do we view aging? How does society view aging? What are common theories about aging?
Societies view on aging may differ from culture to culture, in America most have a negative view
on aging. Many theories have been proposed to explain the process of aging, but neither of them
appears to be fully satisfactory. These theories are theaging by program theory, homeostatic
imbalance theory, cross–linkage theory, autoimmunity theory, genetic theory of aging, centenarian's
theory, and other modifiers of aging. This paper will discuss some of these issues.
It is possible that most people view aging as a natural process individuals will go through in their
lifespan. Fiore (2011) writes:
The fact is, we are not sure why we age, and until we are,...show more content...
19). However, most experts believe that older adults are part of society and contribute greatly to
the economic productivity that is not recognized by society, media, and public policy. (Robbins,
2015). The final perception is concerned culpability, which is older adults are responsible for
their own circumstances. The American culture believes that older adults are responsible for their
own financial planning and eating right to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If the older adult does not
secure a financial future this means that they were not responsible in handling their resources.
Robbins (2015) further states, "Finally, the public asserted a belief in "mind over matter." That
you are as old as you feel and that people's experience of aging is determined by their attitude,
willpower, and choices." (p. 20). The experts on the hand, "emphasized the role of public policy
and social determinants in creating the environments necessary for older adults to secure a good
quality of life," (Robbins, 2015, p. 20). It is important to look at both sides of the argument the
positive and negative perceptions of that Americans have on older adults. This also includes the
theories suggested to account for

Ageism Essay

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Ageism Essay